To Be Admired
by PurpleHime
Summary: Mikan has an admirer and no, it isn't Natsume Hyuuga! But how will our flame caster react to his Polka dots being watched by another guy? Jealousy ensues as they both struggle with their feelings.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I wish I could claim this wonderful anime! I would if I could, but I can't, so I won't! It's not mine and it never will be! Too bad… Natsume and Ruka are so cute!

The gang is now in their final year of middle school and not much has changed in their lives. Mikan is still the same cheerful girl, but is older now and more mature. Now at 14 years of age she had grown taller and that was probably the only thing that had changed about her. She's still the loud mouthed girl that Natsume loved to tease and never got tired of doing it either. Although, many have realized, especially Hotaru and Ruka, that Natsume seems to be flirting rather than teasing nowadays. Mikan of course, often yells at him when he teases her, but never fails to get back to her smiling face. Yes, the girl still has that same cheerful smile, that is, until recently.

The girl still smiles, but they have become more awkward and forced. Natsume has been more observant because of this. He is keeping a close eye on her and has noticed her blushing at the most random times. It wasn't until just yesterday that he, Ruka, Hotaru, Koko, Yuu, Anna, and Nonoko have found out why she has been acting different. It all started at lunch.

Ruka Nogi and Natsume Hyuuga were on their way to their usual lunch table with the rest of the gang. Since Ruka and Hotaru are now going out, Ruka and Natsume sit with them. The two casually went over to the table, but froze when they noticed everyone crowding around Mikan and looking over her shoulder. Even Hotaru seemed interested in whatever was going on. The two only were able to catch part of the conversation.

"It says here that he is in our class!" a blushing Mikan exclaimed, staring down at a letter in her hands. Anna suddenly snatched the note from her.

"Mikan is so lucky!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "I've never had a secret admirer before!" That caught Natsume's attention. He briskly walked over toward them and peered over Anna's shoulder at the letter, with Ruka not far behind. Koko then grabbed the note from Anna and scanned over it quickly.

"Sound like he is really serious about this," the mind reader smirked teasingly, enjoying Mikan's flustered face. Yuu peered over Koko's shoulder and scanned the note as well.

"I wonder who it could be," he mumbled to no one in particular.

"What the heck is going on?" Natsume spoke rudely. Koko turned toward them in surprise. Noting their annoyed expressions, he smiled at them happily.

"Oh! Natsume! Ruka!" he exclaimed, grinning widely. "It seems that Sakura has an admirer! Hey Imai! Read the letter again! Not all of us got to hear it!" Mikan's eyes widened as she dived at Koko, who currently had the letter.

"No!" she yelled, trying to grab the note desperately. "Hotaru! Don't! Not again!" Her face was as red as a tomato. Koko pushed Mikan away and quickly handed Hotaru the love letter.

"Hotaruuuuuuuu!" Mikan whined pitifully as Hotaru stared down at the letter with a slight smirk playing on her lips. Everyone was silent and had an amused look on their faces, except for three. Both Natsume and Ruka had furious expressions on their faces and Mikan was blushing madly while she hid her face in her hands.

"To my beloved Mikan Sakura,

I wasn't sure if I should send this letter or not, but I wanted you to know how I feel about you. I really like you. I always watch you and whenever I see you smile, I feel like I can do anything. I watch you often during class and I am always amazed that you are able to smile, even when times are hard. I hope I don't seem like a stalker when I am saying this. Your smile is enough to even brighten my day and the more I see you, the more I want to tell you my feelings. I didn't have the courage to tell you who I am, at least, not yet. I promise that someday, I will reveal myself to you. This letter is just to let you know that someone is thinking about you and admires you for who you are.

Sincerely,

Your Secret Admirer"

Hotaru lowered the note and looking at everyone who had been listening. Koko, Anna, and Nonoko were giggling childishly while Yuu just grinned, trying to hide his laughter. Mikan still hadn't lifted her face from her hands and was simply wishing that a black hole would swallow her up right about now. Anna and Nonoko just continued to laugh and went over to Mikan. They set their hands on her shoulders and began to laugh and tease her happily.

Ruka however looked downright annoyed, but didn't look as bad as Natsume.

Hotaru knew that her boyfriend didn't like the idea of any other boy besides Natsume being with Mikan, whom was like a sister to him. Hotaru herself, looked like she could care less, but then again what else was new? She was actually amused with the whole situation and it wasn't just because the thought of someone admiring the baka was funny.

No, the inventor knew that a certain Kuro Neko wouldn't be taking the situation very lightly. The fire caster was definitely living up to that title. His dark maroon eyes seemed to have gotten a shade darker if possible and you could see the fire in them. He gritted his teeth together and his fists were clenched tightly. Koko, who had been staring at both Natsume and Ruka for a while now, smirked at their thoughts. He grinned evilly before going back to amusing himself with Mikan's flustered thoughts.

Hotaru Imai was definitely enjoying this more than anyone. Her stoic and emotionless expression hid it well though. She tossed the letter back to an embarrassed Mikan before eating her lunch happily. It looks like her life just got a little more interesting. She stole a quick glance at Natsume and Ruka before nodding in satisfaction.

"Whoever this secret admirer guy is," she thought to herself. "He's a dead man."

Well, I think I did okay. This is my first Gakuen Alice ever! So I'm excited about how it will turn out! I will update as soon as I can though! So please review!


	2. Revealed

Mikan Sakura sat anxiously at her desk. Her hands were clasped together on her lap as she stared down at them as if they were the most interesting things in the world. Every once in a while, she would look around the classroom trying to figure out who her secret admirer could be. It was somewhat difficult though. What with being in the back of the room, she had a good view of the backs of their heads, making her plan to catch some reactions impossible. Natsume sat next to her with Ruka on his other side. He busied himself with his manga, not that he was really reading it anyway. Actually what had his full attention was on was a certain brunette that sat next to him. From the corner of his eye, he watched her every move and followed her gaze wherever it went. He had never seen her so nervous and that bugged him.

"Oi! Polka-dots, quit moving around like that. It's getting annoying." He finally told the girl coldly, making her turn toward him and glare. She finally settled with resting her forehead against the cool wooden desk. Natsume rolled his eyes at her once he realized that she was anxiously kicking her legs back and forth under the table. Ruka stared at the girl worriedly.

"Mikan, are you okay?" he asked her a bit unsurely. Along with Natsume, Ruka has also been watching her for a while now. She had come to class early, which surprised them all and she hadn't spoken since her usual good morning greeting when she walked in. Mikan shot up immediately at hearing Ruka's concerned voice.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine!" she exclaimed quickly, smiling widely, causing them to believe that that had to be the fakest smile they had ever seen. Mjkan smiled softly at her in return and Natsume just turned back to his manga, pretending to be completely uninterested, but still kept watching her from the corner of his eye. Something that Mikan clutched underneath the table caught his attention. He recognized it to be the love letter she had gotten not too long ago. He glared at it, getting ready to burn it right out of her hands, but stopped short when he saw her face. She was staring down at her desk, a cute confused look plastered across her slightly blushing face. He decided to leave the note alone for now.

While Jinno was teaching some boring lesson that seemed unnecessary at the moment, Natsume let his eyes wander around the classroom at all the guys in their class. It annoyed him deeply that someone so close to them was interested in Mikan. He tried to narrow it down to some likely candidates, but all of the guys in their class seemed questionable. So far, he was able to cross off two guys in their class. Those two were himself and Ruka. He was also annoyed to find out that even Koko and Yuu were questionable. Even if they seemed to be just as surprised as they were when Mikan received the letter, they still seemed to really like her a lot.

Class seemed to drag on forever and when it finally ended, Mikan still had her head on the desk. Natsume stared at her for the longest moment before kicking her from under the table, making her head jerk up immediately. Before the girl could yell at the fire caster, Anna and Nonoko suddenly walked up to her and smiled brightly.

"Mikan-chan, want to come to Central Town with us?" Anna asked her cheerfully. Nonoko was right behind her and looked just as excited.

"It's been so long since we have gotten together just to have fun," the blue haired girl added excitedly. Mikan being Mikan, smiled brightly and nodded to her head in agreement.

"Sure!" she exclaimed. She then turned toward her best friend. "Hotaru! Come with us!" Hotaru just stared at her before nodding slowly, indicating that she'll come. Hotaru then turned toward her boyfriend.

"You're coming too," she told Ruka in a not too friendly tone. Ruka laughed nervously before nodding his head.

"Natsume," Ruka spoke, turning to face his best friend. "You should come too. It'll be fun." Natsume just looked away.

"Hn," he answered quietly, like he always does. Koko then ran toward them, followed by Yuu.

"You aren't leaving me behind!" he told them, grinning widely. Hotaru then quickly glanced toward the door before standing.

"I'm going to my room first," the inventor announced. "You're all coming with me." They watched her walk out the door before following silently, Ruka and Mikan obediently, the rest of them kind of reluctantly.

"Hey, Koko," Mikan spoke to the mind reader as they walked toward Hotaru's room. "Is there anyone who has been thinking about me in class today? Anyone who might have sent me that letter?" Koko put a finger to his chin, pretending to be deep in thought. Actually the whole time during class, Koko had been entertaining himself by reading Natsume's thoughts. The flame caster had been thinking about his Polka-dots nonstop. They were mostly frustrated thoughts but some were particularly violent thoughts. He must've thought of over 50 creative ways to kill a certain someone's secret admirer, making Koko especially grateful that he had no romantic feelings for the girl.

"Sorry, Sakura," Koko answered. "I didn't really notice any new thoughts today." Mikan looked down at the ground in disappointment. The group turned the corner and immediately their eyes widened. There, in front of Mikan's door was a boy. The kid was bending down in front of Mikan's door. Natsume stared at the kid darkly until something else caught his eye. A white envelope was gripped tightly in the guy's right hand. He was facing the door and hadn't noticed that the group was there. They just stood there, completely dumbfounded. Yuu was the first one to make a move. He calmly stepped forward, trying to see the boy's face. Finally, he was able to recognize him.

"K-Kunomasu-san?" he spoke finally. Immediately, the boy stiffened. He slowly turned and his eyes widened when he saw the group. He bit his lip nervously and hid the envelope behind his back.

"What are you doing in front of Sakura's room?" Koko asked bluntly, pointing at the boy. They all finally recognized him as Koushiro Kunomasu. He wasn't drop dead gorgeous, but he wasn't exactly ugly either. His dark brown hair came a little above his neck and matched his chocolate brown eyes. Once he noticed that Mikan was there, his whole face went red. His mouth was opened slightly as he just stared at her. Mikan noticed this and turned red as well. There was a moment of silence as the two just stared at each other. Kunomasu ended up being the first one to make a move. He took a tentative step forward before breaking into a full run toward Mikan. He stopped in front of her and shoved the envelope into her hands.

"Here!" he exclaimed before quickly running down the hall. Mikan blinked down at the envelope in her hands before blushing all over again. Koko squeaked and dropped his book that suddenly burst into flames. He glanced at Natsume nervously before taking a good 10 steps back.

"So he reveals himself," Hotaru mumbled quietly. She doubted anyone would be in the mood to go to Central Town now.

Okay, that was chapter 2!! I promise to update as soon as I can! I've got some ideas already so maybe I can update sometime next week. And don't worry. There will be more of how Natsume and Ruka feel about this new guy in the next chapter! So please review!

-Yuki's-lil-sis


	3. It's a date!

Ever since Mikan had gotten her second love note from Kunomasu, everyone has been all over her. She actually was the last one to read the note from the shy kid. The second that she had the note in her grasp and once Koushiro was out of sight, Hotaru had been the first to snatch it and read it over, than she had quickly passed it to Ruka to read. Natsume had read it over his friend's shoulder. Then it was passed around to Yuu, Koko, Anna, Nonoko, and somehow, all the way to Tsubasa and the rest of the special abilities class before finally getting back to Mikan.

The note hadn't really said much.

_Sakura,_

_I don't want to hide my feelings for you anymore. I want to tell you the truth face to face. So please meet me in front of the middle school branch after classes tomorrow. I hope you can make it. _

_-Your secret admirer_

Sadly for Koushiro though, his secret was out. The boy now stood patiently in front of the middle school branch, waiting for his crush to arrive. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't alone.

"Is this really a good idea?" Ruka asked nervously for what seemed like the hundredth time. "We aren't exactly hidden very well. What if they see us?" He and Hotaru were hiding behind some bushes, watching the nervous Kunomasu intently. A camcorder was set up on its tripod facing directly at Koushiro.

"They won't notice us," Hotaru said simply. "They're both idiots."

"Shut up, Ruka," Natsume spoke firmly, his crimson eyes glued to the scene in front of him. "Polka's coming." Ruka shut up immediately and moved his eyes toward the scene as well. Mikan walked nervously toward Kunomasu. She slowed her steps as she neared him, a light blush coating her cheeks. Her cheeks seemed to darken with each step she took.

Mikan had known that Koushiro Kunomasu was in her class, but didn't really pay attention to him. She didn't really know much about the boy. She knew him as one of the shy and quiet kids who rarely spoke unless asked a direct question. She had never noticed once that he had been secretly watching her.

"K-Koushiro-kun?" Mikan spoke softly once she got close enough. Koushiro practically jumped out of his skin when the girl approached. He swiftly turned to face her. His face grew warm as he stared at her.

"S-Sakura-san!" he exclaimed, as he grinned happily, still blushing. "I wasn't sure if you'd come or not!" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, his chocolate brown eyes darting to the ground. Mikan stared down at the ground as well.

"It's okay, I-I wanted to come," she spoke softly, playing with her hair absentmindedly. "I was really surprised when I got the letter from you." Then it was silent. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Koushiro bravely stepped forward and grasped Mikan's hand in his. Mikan stared up at him wide eyed.

"Natsume!" Ruka yelled at his friend, as his uniform began to catch fire, luckily, Mikan and Koushiro hadn't heard him. Hotaru stared at the two best friends emotionlessly, until something else caught her eye. The leg of her tripod was slowly starting to catch fire as well. She lifted if off the ground and away from Natsume.

"Don't burn my camera, Hyuuga," the inventor spoke firmly. Natsume whipped his head toward her and glared. His eyes were narrowed dangerously as they went a shade darker.

"I'm not!" he yelled a little too loudly for Hotaru. She quickly pulled out her giant fly swat and hit both boys on their heads, making them hit the ground face first.

"Why me too?" Ruka asked his girlfriend, bewildered. Hotaru just ignored them and continued to stare and Koushiro and Mikan.

"You were yelling too, Baka," she answered simply. "Now both of you, shut up. I'm trying to watch."

"Stupid kid doesn't have to grab her like that," Natsume muttered under his breath, not that it didn't go unnoticed by Hotaru or Ruka.

"S-Sakura-san!" Koushiro suddenly burst out, catching Mikan's attention as well as the people behind the bush. "I-I really like you!" All time seemed to stop at that moment. Hotaru was snickering behind her camera and all Ruka could do was stare at his best friend nervously. Natsume stiffened. Ruka could feel the heat radiating off of the fire caster. His clenched fists were white from squeezing too hard and they were shaking, making Ruka nervous.

"N-Natsume, calm down," was all he could manage to say to him. Natsume gritted his teeth together.

"How dare that little-!" Natsume thought menacingly. He then decided to put one of his many murder plans to the test. Ruka let out a breath when Natsume had stopped shaking, but then quickly leaped up when a flame emitted from Natsume's palm. Ruka hadn't seen Natsume this angry since that time they made Mikan go into the Northern Forest. A look of determination and hatred flickered in the Black Cat's eyes as he made a move to stand up. It was then that Ruka made a move. He leaped up and grabbed the raven haired boy's arm.

"Natsume, stop!" Ruka whispered loudly, trying not to attract too much attention. "Calm down! You're going to blow our cover!" Natsume's bangs covered his eyes, making his expression unreadable.

"I don't care," he finally spat out darkly. "He's going to die by my hands today." Ruka tightened his grip on Natsume's arm as he tried to take a step forward. Hotaru decided that she has had enough and once again hit Natsume in the back of the head with her fly swat.

"Don't be stupid Hyuuga," she spoke emotionlessly as she stood over the black cat. "Think about what you are doing, Baka. You think Mikan would ever forgive you for killing the one idiot who actually admires her? Besides you, I mean." Natsume glared up at her from his spot on the ground.

"I never said that I-" He began calmly, but the look Hotaru was giving him stopped him. Her violet eyes were filled with mostly boredom, but something else flickered in them for a moment. The look of understanding.

"Don't bother hiding it now," she stated simply. "You're too obvious."

"Please, can you give me a chance?" Koushiro's voice brought them all back to reality. He looked at Mikan pleadingly and all the brunette could do was stare and blush.

"I-I don't-" she began, but Koushiro quickly cut her off.

"You don't have to answer my feelings right away," he told her gently. "But I want to take you out sometime. Are you busy tomorrow night?" Mikan looked down at the ground and then into Koushiro's pleading face, before shaking her head no. Koushiro's face brightened as he grinned.

"Umm, okay then," he spoke, blushing violently. "W-would you like to come with me to Central Town then? I-I…. want to get to know you better."

"S-sure," she answered, grinning shyly at him. "It sounds like fun!" She put on a cheerful smile that made Koushiro's heart melt. He grinned back.

"Ahhhh.. okay!" he exclaimed. "Then, it's settled? I'll meet you out here after class and we can go together! Okay?" Mikan nodded, looking down at the ground.

"O-okay," she stuttered softly. Koushiro's smile widened as he turned to go.

"Great! Then I'll see you tomorrow Sakura-san!" Mikan waved at him as the boy ran back into the middle school branch, looking as if he had just won the lottery. Mikan didn't know what to make of this. She stood there a bit dazed and with her face beet red.

Unknown to our flustered brunette, three pairs of eyes were watching her intently. Hotaru stared at Mikan emotionlessly, while the other two boys fought with their emotions. Ruka had been sitting there silently, debating whether or not to say something to Natsume, who had been looking as if he could've burned Koushiro at any given moment. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, the fire caster finally stood, his bangs covering his raging ruby eyes. He turned on his heel and stomped off without a word. Ruka stood as well and was about to follow him, but turned to glance at his girlfriend, who waved her hand at him dismissively, before following his best friend. Hotaru continued to gaze at Mikan who still hadn't moved from her spot.

Looks like tomorrow is going to be a very long day.

Okay, hope you enjoyed! I'll try to be one of those authors who don't completely forget about their stories and I'll try to update when I can! Please review!

-Yuki's-lil-sis


	4. Natsume confesses!

Ruka Nogi walked around campus calmly, stroking his bunny as he did so. Today was the day of Mikan's date and for some reason, Ruka couldn't find his best friend anywhere. He had been walking around aimlessly looking for the fire caster for about 20 minutes. Natsume seemed to have been kind of off ever since Mikan and Koushiro met about their date the day before, not that Ruka could blame him. Ruka hadn't had any doubts about Natsume's feelings for Mikan, but he had to be sure that he wasn't wrong. To do that, Ruka knew that he had to get inside the fire caster's big head some how and he knew just the person to talk to in order to do that.

Flashback: Just that morning before class…

"Hey Koko!" Ruka exclaimed as soon as the mind reader was in view. "Can I ask you about-" Koko cut him off.

"About Natsume's feelings for Mikan, right?" he finished, giving Ruka a cheerful grin. Ruka just stared at him, confusion showing clearly all over his face.

"Yeah, how did you….?" He trailed off. Koko gave him a knowing look. "Right, Never mind." Ruka was about to go on, when something else clicked.

"Wait," he spoke slowly. "Just how often are you reading my mind?!" Koko looked taken aback for a second before shrugging carelessly.

"I was bored, Ruka," he stated simply, like that explained everything. Then he added. "When there's nothing to do, I get bored. When I get bored, my mind sort of wanders and you happened to be the person closest to me at the time." Ruka just nodded and then shrugged at this answer.

"Okay, yeah so anyway," Ruka went on. "You probably heard about Mikan's date later today, right?" Koko just nodded.

"I might have heard something about it from Mikan," he spoke slowly, as if remembering something. Ruka looked at him in surprise.

"Mikan told you about it?" he asked in shock. Koko just gave him a wry grin.

"Something like that." The mind reader smirked. Ruka almost rolled his eyes. Of course the mind reader would know about it.

"Is she excited about it?" Ruka finally asked curiously. Koko's grin immediately left his lips as he began to think. Ruka leaned in closer, awaiting an answer.

"Not really," Koko finally answered. "I think overwhelmed is the best word for it. She's been nervous and jumpy ever since then too."

"So… she's not happy?" Ruka concluded questioningly, tilting his head to the side.

"I wouldn't say that either," Koko told him quickly. "I think she's flattered too, but more than anything she's shocked." Ruka considered this for a moment before something else dawned on him.

"Just how often are you reading _her_ mind?" Ruka asked him suspiciously, crossing his arms over his chest. Koko just grinned sheepishly.

"Okay, okay," he said in defeat. "Actually I read Mikan's mind all the time. She's actually one of my favorite minds to read. You're one of them too!" Ruka just stared at him before backing away a little.

"How many favorites do you have?" he asked in dismay, now deciding to be cautious about what he's thinking. Koko smiled with glee.

"Just three," he replied simply, grinning from ear to ear. "It used to be four, but I stopped reading Hotaru's mind after… yeah.. well, we don't need to go into all of that." Ruka, who suddenly became interested in what his girlfriend has been thinking, decided to pry.

"All of what?" he asked quickly. When Koko didn't answer, he added. "C'mon, I'm her boyfriend. I think I should have the right to know what my girlfriend is thinking."

Koko just shook his head.

"Trust me," he stated firmly and seriously. "There are some things that are better left unsaid." Ruka was silent for a moment.

"Wait. Then who's the third person?" he asked suddenly, causing Koko's silly grin to return.

"Natsume, of course!" Koko replied simply, as if it were obvious. "Who wouldn't read his mind? He's probably the most emotionless person ever, besides Hotaru anyway."

"Yeah, about him," Ruka suddenly began. "I already know that he has feelings for Mikan…or am I wrong?"

"Why are you asking if you're so sure?" he mocked, sitting in his seat casually.

"I just need you to confirm it," he answered. "Before I decide to do anything about it." He added, slightly quieter so no one would hear. Koko just nodded and sat back in his seat, putting his hands behind his head.

"Sometimes he has feelings for her and sometimes he doesn't," Koko said after a moment. Ruka stared at him, before getting in the seat next to him, since more students were starting to file in.

"What is that suppose to mean?" he finally asked, once he got close enough to the mind reader that they were out of ear shot. Koko just shrugged his shoulders.

"Not sure exactly," he replied slowly, making Ruka bang his head on the desk in front of him. "I think he may be arguing with himself. Either that, or he's just in denial."

"So that means…" Ruka began to say, getting excited. Koko nodded his head, confirming it.

"He's got the hots for her."

End Flashback

"I swear I won't hesitate to burn you!" a threatening yell came from around a corner. Ruka's eyes widened as he quickly rushed toward the familiar voice. He just stood there and stared dumbly at the scene. His best friend had one of their classmates pinned to a wall, a look of murder swimming around in his crimson eyes. Natsume's poor victim looked terrified and ready to wet his pants.

"H-Hyuuga-san.. I swear! I don't know anything!" the captive wailed, desperately trying to save himself. Natsume's grip on the boy only tightened as he struggled.

"You liar!" he spat out. "I saw you with that Kunomasu! I know that you know him!"

"I really don't!" the guy tried again, looking close to fainting. "We're just d-doing a-a… project! I really don't know anything about him!" It wasn't until a flame lit up in Natsume's free hand that Ruka decided to intercede.

"Natsume, stop!" Ruka yelled, diving at his friend and taking a hold of his arm that held the flame. The flame immediately disappeared when he saw Ruka. He lowered his arm and turned his head away, a scowl still etched across his face. Ruka then turned to the lucky boy that still had his back against the wall. He was trembling furiously.

"You better go," Ruka told him seriously, still restraining his friend. The boy suddenly snapped out of his trance and nodded quickly. He looked back at Natsume nervously before darting away from the two. Ruka watched the boy trip, fall, quickly stand up, and sprint around the corner before letting Natsume go. An awkward silence followed. Natsume looked away, refusing to look at his friend. Ruka just stared at him, trying to read that look that the fire caster had put on the minute that Kunomasu had asked Mikan out.

"What are you doing here, Ruka?" Natsume finally asked, still not looking at his friend. He didn't sound angry, nor did he sound frustrated. He sounded tired Ruka finally confirmed.

"Looking for you," he replied, trying to peer into his friends face, finding it frustrating that he couldn't read that look. "I was worried about you." Natsume finally looked at his friend.

"No need to," he stated simply, turning to go. "I'm going to my room." Hearing that, Ruka began to panic.

"Wait!" he blurted out just as Natsume began to move. The fire caster froze and looked back at Ruka. Knowing that Natsume wouldn't say anything else, Ruka continued.

"Y-You know," he began, before he could stop himself. "Y-You shouldn't b-bottle things up, Natsume!" He mentally kicked himself when he realized how lame that sounded. More silence.

"What are you talking about, Ruka?" Natsume finally asked, raising an eyebrow in slight amusement, a slight grin playing at his lips. His friend sounded so flustered. Ruka froze. He cleared his throat. He had to say it. He knew he would end up making an even lamer excuse to get out of it anyway. He spoke quickly and nervously.

"M-Mikan!" he blurted out, making the slight grin on Natsume's lips turn into a full out frown. "Y-You should tell her that you like her!" There! He said it. He let out a breath, before looking to see his friend's reaction. He started to get excited when Natsume's eyes showed surprise, but the fire caster changed it quickly and went back to looking emotionless. He turned his body so that he was facing Ruka. He looked Ruka square in the eye.

"I don't." Man, he was a good liar, Ruka thought, but Ruka saw that he was lying.

"That's a lie!" he said to the black cat. "I-I know you like her! S-So.. you should stop lying to yourself, Natsume!"

"I don't," Natsume repeated, a little more firmly this time. Ruka narrowed his eyes at him.

"Yes, you do!" Ruka said with full confidence, all doubt now gone from his voice. Natsume narrowed his eyes as well.

"I don't like her!" Natsume yelled, just wishing that Ruka would stop.

"Don't lie, Natsume!" Ruka exclaimed, getting more and more frustrated. "You like her, so just admit it!"

"How can I like her?!" Natsume yelled loudly, making Ruka fall silent. "I can't like her! Not when she already likes that Kunomasu!" Ruka just couldn't help it. He grinned. Natsume didn't know it just yet, but he had indirectly confessed his feelings for Mikan.

"You don't know that!" Ruka yelled back at him, trying to wipe the grin off his face, but failing miserably. Natsume turned his head away.

"Yes! I do!" he exclaimed. "Why else would she have went on a freaking date with him?!" An idea sparked in Ruka's head.

"Because she's nice!" he replied, making Natsume's head snap up. "Natsume? Do you trust Kunomasu?" The flame caster narrowed his eyes.

"No," he answered without hesitation.

"Mikan is nice," Ruka repeated. "And I don't think she would realize it if Kunomasu were to toy with her." Natsume's eyes widened, but then narrowed quickly.

"That b-stard(A.N-not aloud to swear)!" Natsume turned on his heel and began to stomp off. Ruka had no doubts about where he was heading. The animal pheromone winced however when a nearby tree suddenly burst into flames as Natsume disappeared around the middle school building.

Once Natsume was out of sight, a figure suddenly appeared behind Ruka.

"Good job, Nogi," Hotaru praised him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Although, I would have done it better." Ruka blushed and nodded his head quickly.

"Should we follow him?" Ruka asked his girlfriend. However, Hotaru shook her head.

"No," she replied calmly. "Let's see how everything works out first before we meddle."

A.N- Sorry it took a while everyone! And I'm sorry for the OOCness! I haven't updated in a while so I kinda rushed through this one! I'll try harder on the next chapter! Reviews make authors happy!

-Yuki's-lil-sis


	5. The partner speaks

Mikan Sakura stood in front of the large mirror in her bedroom as she brushed her silky brown locks. She had stopped halfway while putting on her pigtails, deciding to leave her hair down for her date. A soft blush coated her cheeks as she got ready to meet Kunomasu. She was still somewhat overwhelmed by all the drama that has been happening and just wanted everything to get back to normal.

"What am I doing?" she mentally asked herself. "I don't even know him! I wish Hotaru would come with me." She looked down at the ground sadly and nearly leapt five feet in the air as a firm knock was heard at her door. She swiftly turned around and walked over to the door to answer it.

"H-Hotaru?" the brunette said questioningly, as she slowly pushed the door open.

"Wrong, Pigtails," a too familiar voice answered her, as Natsume stepped into the room. Mikan stepped back slightly in surprise, but greeted the black cat with one of her cheerful smiles.

"N-Natsume!" she exclaimed, not knowing what else to say. Natsume just stared at her. He blinked when he realized that her hair was down. Before he could stop himself, his hand reached up and grabbed some of her locks softly. He felt her silky smooth hair slowly, enjoying the feel of them against his finger tips. Mikan's eyes widened as she watched him. She blushed. Natsume was blushing slightly as well, but to hide his embarrassment, he pulled the girl's hair, making her yelp.

"H-hey!" she stuttered out, pulling away from him. "W-what was that for?" Natsume remained silent as he stared at her. She was dressed nicely as well. She wore a simple pink dress that was covered in cherry blossom petals and reached down to her knees. She also had on a slightly darker pink sweater and had on matching pink shoes. She looked so cute and Natsume hated it.

"What's with that outfit?" he demanded, as he watched her blink and stare down at herself.

"Oh, this? I got this from Anna-chan for my birthday last year. I didn't think I'd ever get an opportunity to wear it, so…" Natsume cut her off.

"I didn't ask you where you got it," the flame caster snapped, without really meaning to. "Why are you wearing it?" As far as Mikan knew, Natsume had no clue that she was going on a date. She looked down.

"Umm… well… one of my friends asked me to go with them to Central Town… so…" again, Natsume cut her off.

"Who asked you go with them?" he asked her sharply, already knowing the answer. Mikan blushed embarrassedly as she answered in a small voice.

"K-Kunomasu-san…" she trailed off, not looking up at Natsume. She blushed harder, turning her head away from the boy in front of her. They stood there in silence, Mikan from embarrassment and Natsume from growing rage. His clenched fists shook. Mikan's eyes remained glued onto the floor, until something Natsume said made her head snap up.

"No." Mikan stared at him for a moment.

"W-what?" she asked in confusion, not sure if she was hearing right. Natsume looked straight into her eyes, his own crimson eyes narrowing slightly.

"I said no, Polka dots," he repeated, more firmly this time. "You are NOT going." Mikan's eyes widened. She stared up at him strangely. It took her a while for her to be able to form a coherent sentence.

"B-but why?" she finally questioned. Natsume finally looked away from her, his bangs covering his eyes. This confused Mikan. Usually, Natsume would care less about what she was doing. Now here he was, getting into her business and telling her not to go with Kunomasu. She peered into his face, trying to read his expression.

"Because I said so," he stated simply. "Don't go." His voice was firm and strong, showing that he was serious. Mikan was silent. She gaped up at Natsume, confusion clearly etched across her face. Natsume continued to have that emotionless stare on his face and that just pushed Mikan over the edge.

"B-But.. you can't tell me what to do!" she finally yelled at Natsume, making the fire caster lift his head up to glare at her. "And I already told Kunomasu that I would go!" Natsume's eyes narrowed into thin slits.

"That's where you're wrong, Polka," he told the girl in front of him. "You are my partner, so I can tell you what to do! And who the heck cares whether or not you told him you'd go! I'm telling you not to! So there!" Mikan glared at him, her chocolate brown eyes darkening with every word that Natsume said to her.

"Natsume! You jerk!" she suddenly yelled out, making Natsume's eyes widen in surprise. But Mikan wasn't finished yet. "What is wrong with you?! One minute you could care less about the things I do and the next minute, you are all over me, telling me what I can and can't do! I don't get you at all!" With that, she turned and ran out of her room, but Natsume was quick and grabbed her wrist, forcing her to turn around again.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Natsume demanded, tightening his hold on her. Mikan ignored this question and asked one of her own.

"Why are you doing this anyway?" she asked, turning her head away from the boy in front of her. Natsume bristled. All of his patience was slowly growing thin, not that he had much patience anyway.

"Why do you think I'm doing this?" he yelled at her, making Mikan flinch. She looked up at him and glared hard.

"Because you're a jerk?" she asked seriously.

"No! I'm doing this because…" he trailed off, making Mikan tilt her head in confusion.

"Because…?" she pressed, trying to make him speak. Natsume growled under his breath. This girl was annoying.

"Because I…" he trailed off once again. Mikan just stared up at him, urging him to continue. He didn't. His bangs hid his eyes as he slowly let go of her wrist. Mikan then stepped toward him and peered up at his face, making him back up slightly.

"Because what, Natsume?" Mikan asked, impatience evident in her voice. Natsume blushed slightly when Mikan made that cute confused face. Her brown locks framed he innocent face perfectly, making her innocence way more obvious. He couldn't take it anymore.

"BECAUSE…I'M YOU'RE PARTNER!" he finally yelled loudly, making her take a few steps back. He turned away from her, cursing himself over and over in his mind. He was close. He was so close to saying it and once again, he failed. A deep blush made its way to his cheeks, but the brunette was clueless since he had turned away before she got a good look at him. There was an awkward silence, before Mikan's soft giggles filled the air. Confused, Natsume turned to look at her. A light blush sprinkled her cheeks as she covered he mouth with her left hand.

"W-what's so funny?" he demanded, not finding the situation the slight bit amusing. Mikan's giggles subsided as she took a few steps so that she was standing next to him. She smiled up at him happily.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed," she told him, grinning widely. "But you just made me so happy. You just admitted that you care about me! All this time, I had thought you could care less about me. So… you think that Kunomasu-san will replace you or something right?" Natsume didn't answer. He just stared at her incredulously. When Mikan knew he wasn't going to say anything she continued.

"Well, you don't have to worry!" Mikan assured him, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "You are one of my best friends, Natsume! No one could replace you! We'll probably be partners until graduation anyway!" Natsume just kept on staring. His mouth hung open slightly in stupefied shock. Mikan then glanced at her watch and her eyes widened.

"Oh… I have to go, Natsume," she told him. She turned to go, but then froze. She turned back to face Natsume and tip toed so that she could kiss his cheek. She grinned. "Don't worry, okay? It's not like this date will change anything between us." Natsume could only watch as the girl he loved bounded away happily. He was left standing in the middle of her room. Alone.

_"You are one of my best friends, Natsume!" _That line played again and again in his head. He laughed bitterly.

"Best friends, huh?" He spat out, walking out of the brunette's room. He shut the door behind him. "Whatever." Then he silently walked down the hall, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he did so.

A.N- Haha.. I'm a bad person! I'm sorry everyone for the wait! With school and everything.. I guess I didn't have any time….yeah so! So next chapter is where we get to see Mikan on her date with Kunomasu! Will Natsume just let this slide after he had been declared a friend? Or will he do something about it? Stay tuned! And please review!

-PurpleHime


	6. The Date part 1

A.N-I normally wouldn't have updated for another two weeks or so, but unfortunately, one of my friends set a deadline for me…. (cough)nao!(cough) Also known as Froggy Coffee Bean! You should go read her fics, they're pretty cute! Okay, I've wasted enough time so here we go!

nxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxm

"Natsume!" Ruka Nogi yelled at his best friend as he ran to catch up with the flame caster. Natsume didn't even give any kind of sign that he had heard the boy. He continued to walk down the hall silently, hands stuffed in his pockets. When the animal pheromone finally got up with the flame caster, he grabbed the back of the boy's shirt. It was only then that Natsume stopped walking. He didn't turn around however.

"What?" Ruka froze. He knew just by hearing his friend utter one word that something had happened. Natsume's usually cold and emotionless voice was now filled with emotion. He sounded angry and frustrated, but Ruka also noticed that the flame caster's voice was filled with regret and sadness as well. Ruka fell silent for a moment.

"Natsume…. what happened?" he finally asked in concern. Again, a moment of silence enveloped the boys.

"Nothing," Natsume muttered emotionlessly. More lies. Ruka sighed. Natsume seemed to be lying a lot lately. The blonde boy was about to question further, when he was rudely cut off.

"Oi, Nogi," Hotaru joined the conversation. She calmly walked toward them. The two boys turned to look at her.

"Hey, Hotaru," Ruka greeted his girlfriend. The stoic inventor didn't greet him back. Instead, she quickly grasped his hand.

"There's no time for that," she told her boyfriend quickly. Ruka blinked. He stared down at his girlfriend, who despite her usual emotionless attitude, sounded rushed and frustrated.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, slightly baffled at her change in mood. She didn't answer and instead began to tug on his arm, while glaring up at him.

"The baka's going on her date soon and I need you to come with me while I spy on her," she told him simply. She then turned her attention to Natsume. "Hyuuga, you're coming too." Natsume glared at her.

"Why do I have to go?" he asked cockily. "I have no interest in what that idiot is doing."

"That's a lie," Hotaru spoke coldly. "You know very well that you want to know what that idiot is doing." The two stoic geniuses glared at each other, neither one ready to back down first. Ruka just stared at the two nervously.

"Why do I gotta go anyway?!" Natsume finally yelled out. "There's no point in me going." Hotaru crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes.

"I have my reasons in forcing you to go," she stated simply, before dragging Ruka down the hall by the arm. "So hurry up, Hyuuga." Natsume was about to argue again, but something stopped him. So instead, he silently followed after the couple.

Nxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmn(Scene change)xmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxm

Mikan Sakura walked out of the middle school branch in search of her date. She looked around in confusion when she saw no one. Pretty sure that he was just running a little late, she sat down on a bench and prepared to wait.

Mikan had only been waiting for about five minutes before someone called out to her.

"Sakura-san!" Mikan quickly stood and turned toward the voice. Koushiro came running toward her. He stopped in front of her to catch his breath.

"I.. am.. so….s-sorry!" he stated between breaths. "I was supposed to get here before you. I'm sorry!" He bowed and it was then that Mikan got a good look at him. He was wearing brown khaki pants and a dark green top. In his arms was a bouquet of wild flowers.

"Its okay, Kunomasu-san," she told him, offering him a small smile. "I wasn't waiting for too long." It was then that the brown haired boy stood up straight and grinned sheepishly.

"Th-that's good," he stuttered out. He blushed before thrusting the flowers out for Mikan to see. "Th-these are for you!" His blush darkened. Mikan blushed too, but accepted the flowers kindly.

"Th-thank you," the choked out nervously. "Umm.. you look nice." She added awkwardly. If that is even possible at this moment, Koushiro's blush darkened.

"N-not as nice… a-as you do!" he told her. "Y-you're very beautiful!" Kunomasu turned around swiftly so that his back was facing her. He mentally kicked himself for saying something like that so easily. Mikan looked down at the ground bashfully, blushing furiously. The two grew quiet for a moment until Koushiro decided to break the silence. "Umm…. ready to go?" Mikan grinned up at him shyly and nodded. He offered his hand to her, which after a moment she shyly took.

"Yeah, we should go," she agreed. "It's getting kind of hot around here." Kunomasu blinked as he too realized that the temperature had suddenly gotten warmer, which was strange considering that it was getting close to dinner time. The brown haired boy shrugged it off however. Mikan, his crush since elementary school, was with him and he was determined to escort her properly. Hand in hand, the two headed toward the Central Town buses.

"Hurry up!" Hotaru yelled at Ruka and Natsume. The two were currently hiding from Mikan and Koushiro. "They're on the move again." Ruka gave Natsume a light shove, to get the flame caster out of his trance. Ruka was literally staring to sweat, since Natsume was heating up the whole area. The two quickly followed the inventor as she moved through the trees, toward the Central Town buses, not far behind Koushiro and Mikan.

"A-after you Sakura-san," Koushiro spoke softly as the two entered the bus. Mikan thanked him and entered the bus, with Koushiro right behind. Hotaru, Ruka, and Natsume watched them sit in the front row in silence.

"Now what?" Ruka asked his girlfriend. "If we enter the bus, then they'll surely see us." Hotaru didn't answer. Instead she silently walked over to the bus and wordlessly slipped inside through the emergency exit. Ruka and Natsume stayed where they were and simply stared.

"Your girlfriend is a freak," Natsume told his friend nonchalantly. Ruka just chuckled sheepishly.

"But she's my freak, I guess," Ruka replied, following the raven haired girl. Natsume rolled his eyes before following as well. The two jumped up and snuck onto the bus. Hotaru was sitting in the back seat by the window. Ruka silently crept over and sat beside her and Natsume wordlessly settled himself on Ruka's other side. During the whole bus ride, Natsume kept his eyes on a certain auburn haired girl and her date.

Nxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxm(Scene change)nxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxm

The ride to Central Town was a quick one and once Mikan and Koushiro got off of the bus, Natsume was the first one to follow right after them. Ruka was about to follow him, but was held back by Hotaru.

"I didn't come here just to spy on the baka," she told her boyfriend, as Natsume exited the bus. "I have some very important business to attend to. You have to watch Hyuuga and make sure that our cover isn't blown. So take these." She handed the boy her famous panda earphones. Ruka just stared at her for a moment.

"So what exactly am I supposed to be doing?" he finally asked. Hotaru just stared at him.

"I don't have time to baby sit the idiot forever," she told him, referring to Mikan. "She needs a boyfriend and Hyuuga just might be the right one for her. If Mikan and Kunomasu do end up getting together, then I'll know who to blame, so don't mess this up." That being said, the inventor and her boyfriend went their separate ways. Ruka to find Natsume and Hotaru to who knows where. Ruka sighed heavily once he realized that Natsume was nowhere in sight. He silently slipped the panda earphones over his head and went off to find the flame caster. He knew he had to hurry. Ruka wouldn't be surprised if Kunomasu turned out to be dead by the time he found them.

A.N- Well, not one of my best chapters, but I promise to do better on the next one. Their date had barely begun anyway. I would have made it longer but If I had wanted to fit the whole date in here, it would end up being about 5000 words and I really didn't want to do that, but at least I updated in less than ten days, right? I'll also put more NxM moments in the next chapter so stay turned. And please review!

-PurpleHime


	7. The Date part 2Fluff Puffs!

Pretty much everyone in Alice Academy knew not to make Natsume Hyuuga angry. They knew how dangerous he was when he isn't being his usual bored self because if he isn't in his emotionless state, than he is in his "I'm going to kill anyone who gets within ten feet of me" state.

Mikan had told the boy before that he needs to attend anger management classes and the flame caster decided to respond by burning the poor girl's hair. For some odd reason though, Mikan seemed to be the only one in the school who didn't back off when he was angry. Not that Natsume minded of course. Sure, when he was angry, having Mikan ask him about it every 5 seconds was not what he needed. However, there were also many occasions where Natsume would forget all about his anger when the girl was near him. Not that he would ever show it or anything. For the first time in his life though, Natsume knew that he needed some type of anger management.

The black cat let out an irritated growl, as he ran a frustrated hand through his dark raven hair. He had been following Mikan and her date for not even half an hour and he was already trying his hardest to control the flame that was trying to make its way out of his palm.

Natsume was currently hiding behind one of the buildings while peering out at a certain brunette who sat by herself on the grass. Natsume could hear her hum quietly to herself as she waited for Kunomasu to come back from who knows where. The boy sighed once he realized that she was alone and leaned lazily against the building he was hiding behind. He closed his eyes tiredly.

"Natsume?" a voice broke the comfortable silence. The mentioned slowly opened his eyes so that two crimson orbs were visible. There stood Ruka, who was sweating and out of breath.

"Ruka," Natsume said his name in a bored way. "What took you?" Natsume stared at his best friend, slightly amused. His face was flushed and he was leaning against the wall for support.

"Finally!" the animal pheromone muttered under his breath. "I've been running around looking for you everywhere! You haven't killed Kunomasu, have you?" Ruka averted his gaze over to Mikan and began to panic when he saw the girl by herself. Natsume's smirking face was slowly replaced by an annoyed frown.

"Not yet," he replied darkly. "But I'm getting pretty close to doing so." Ruka cringed as his best friend's eyes got a shade darker with every word. His crimson eyes almost could be mistaken for black.

"Oh wow! Thank you so much, Kunomasu-san!" Mikan's loud and obnoxious voice broke the two from their thoughts. The two swiftly turned to stare at the brunette. She now stood up as Kunomasu approached her. In his grasp was a box of Fluff Puffs. He walked over to her slowly, with a very noticeable blush spread across his cheeks. Well, noticeable to everyone except for Mikan. Her eyes glowed with child like excitement as Koushiro sat down next to her.

"I-I just thought you might want a snack," he spoke nervously, staring down at the pink box. "I-I know.. how much you like them …so.." He trailed off and nervously looked up at the brunette. Mikan caught his gaze and immediately looked away, while blushing softly.

"Th-that was thoughtful of you," she finally choked out when she got the courage to look at him. She smiled cutely. "Thank you." Koushiro's whole face grew warm as he stared at her angelic face. She leaned over and took a Fluff Puff from the box and happily popped it into her mouth. That small, shy smile never left her lips as she chewed slowly with her eyes closed. Koushiro just sat there and watched her every move. When her chocolate brown eyes were visible, the boy noticed that they were shining even more brilliantly than before. He smiled a princely smile.

"Are they really that good?" he asked her, referring to the Fluff Puffs. Mikan froze at that. She turned to the boy in front of her and blinked in surprise.

"Of course they are!" she exclaimed as if it were obvious. Then she was silent for a moment. "Y-you've never had them before?!" Koushiro almost laughed at her expression. She looked so shocked. As if never trying a Fluff Puff before was a crime. It made her all the more cuter, the boy thought to himself as he grinned.

"I can't really say that I have," he replied honestly, enjoying her shocked expression. Before Koushiro knew what was happening, he found Mikan nearly on top of him. The girl had one hand that rested on the grass in between his legs and her other hand held a Fluff Puff up to his face. He let out a surprised breath as his face turned nearly the color of Natsume's eyes.

"S-Sakura-san," he muttered embarrassedly as the girl pressed the Fluff Puff to his trembling lips.

"You don't know what you're missing, Kunomasu-san," she spoke, staring at him straight in the eye. "You have to try it." The boy blinked several times before he slowly opened his mouth to welcome the sweet treat. He blushed the entire time since he and Mikan's faces were still only inches apart as he chewed slowly, savoring the sweet taste. Mikan watched him intently, waiting to see his reaction. It wasn't until he swallowed and nodded in satisfaction that she finally actually got off of him.

"I told you so!" she sang cheerfully, while popping another Fluff Puff into her mouth. "These are the best ever! Thank you again for buying them for me."

"A-anytime!" he choked out. And he meant it to. "You can bug me anytime you want to go here. I'll g-gladly… accompany y-you." He turned around swiftly to hide his blushing face. Mikan's face also went red as she turned so that her back was facing him.

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Ruka stared down at the ground nervously as his best friend grew deathly quiet. They had seen and heard everything and neither were very happy about it. Ruka finally looked up and took in his best friend's current state. First thing he noticed was that he was as stiff as a board. His feet were planted firmly into the ground and his fists shook violently as he watched the two on the grass.

"Natsume…" Ruka spoke quietly. It wasn't until Natsume took a step that Ruka lunged forward and grabbed his arm. "Natsume! Wait!" Natsume ignored him and shrugged him off, while a flame lit up in his right hand. He began to make his way toward Mikan and Koushiro. Ruka quickly went after him and grabbed his left arm firmly. With his free arm, Ruka turned on the panda headphones that Hotaru had given to him in case something happened.

"Hotaru! Hotaru! Come in!" he spoke into the mice pleadingly. He knew that if Mikan and Koushiro spotted them, it wouldn't be very easy to explain the situation. Natsume was able to continue forward as Ruka tried to hold him back by digging his feet into the ground. As if an angel was watching over him, he heard his girlfriend's emotionless voice on the other line.

"What?" she asked irritably. She sounded busy, but Ruka really could care less right now.

"Natsume's ready to kill someone!" he yelled into the mice, but still quiet enough so that he wouldn't be heard by Mikan or her date. "Preferably Kunomasu-san! I need back up!" Ruka could hear her sigh in annoyance.

"You're wasting my time, Ruka," she told him icily. "I'm in a meeting and it's already been taken care of. Back up is there."

"What?" Ruka muttered, looking around anxiously, expecting to see Yuu or Koko with some kind of elephant gun or something. "I don't see anyone, Hotaru!" They were nearly right behind the Mikan and Kunomasu when a voice froze everything.

"Onii-chan!" a voice exclaimed. The 4 bodies turned in the direction of the voice and saw Youichii(sp?) Hijiri. He ran over to Natsume and hugged him around the waist. Youichii had grown some over the last 4 years. Being at seven years old, he was still pretty much the same aside from the fact that he was slightly more mature. Once Youichii hugged Natsume, the flame in the boy's hand disappeared. Just in time too. Ruka froze when Mikan turned around to face them.

"You-chan! Natsume! And Ruka-pyon too! What are you guys doing here?" Mikan asked the three excitedly. You-chan glared at Koushiro, making the boy shift uncomfortably. Ruka just grinned nervously and waved at the girl. He then turned around swiftly.

"You sent Youichii as back up?" he whispered to Hotaru, so that the others wouldn't hear him.

"Of course," she answered simply. "I knew you wouldn't be able to handle it. This way Hyuuga won't go be able to go crazy with him there." Ruka sighed.

"Yeah, I guess," he mumbled, feeling unworthy since a 7 year old had taken over his job. Feeling that the conversation was over, the stoic inventor hung up without another word. Ruka sighed heavily and turned to face the others. Natsume had calmed down, but now both he and Youichii were glaring daggers at Koushiro.

"Hey, Ruka-pyon!" Mikan exclaimed. "We were just talking about how you guys should come have dinner with me and Kunomasu-san." Ruka stared at the brown haired boy next to Mikan. Kunomasu didn't look very happy about the idea, but he wanted to make Mikan happy.

"Onii-chan! I want to go with Onee-chan," Youichii announced, pointing at Mikan happily. "Can we?" Natsume slowly nodded his head.

"Hn…" he mumbled, hiding his eyes under his bangs.

"Yay!" Youichii and Mikan exclaimed at once. Kunomasu took a deep breath before bravely stepping forward and grasping Mikan's hand in his, making Youichii and Natsume glare daggers at him. Kunomasu gulped and looked away.

"Then …w-we should get going," the boy announced nervously. Youichii narrowed his eyes into thin slits before grabbing one of Natsume's hands and then grabbing Mikan's free hand, so that he was now in the middle of the two. The four walked hand in hand while a flustered Ruka followed silently behind them.

A.N-Well, chapter 7 is done and over with! Yes! And I made my deadline!! Hurray for me! (clears throat) I have no idea when the next update will be… I guess that depends on when my deadline is set. So I hope you guys enjoyed! Please review!!


	8. The Date part 3

Ruka Nogi swore that there was no way that the tension could grow any more intense. The young animal pheromone sighed in annoyance as he got up to calm Youichii down before the young seven year old could unleash his spirits at Kunomasu. Poor Ruka seemed to be the only calm one as the 5 of them sat down to eat dinner in some classy restaurant. Ruka wanted to pummel his best friend now more than ever. The fire caster was also causing a ruckus for the same reason as Youichii was, and that reason was the seating arrangements.

Once the group had chosen a table, they had chosen a medium sized table that held six people, three on each side. Mikan had silently seated herself in between two empty chairs. Youichii, being who he is, immediately sat himself down on Mikan's right side, leaving only one empty chair on Mikan's left side and three empty chairs on the other side of the table. Before Ruka or Natsume could blink once, the empty chair on Mikan's left side became occupied as well by Koushiro, making Natsume glare at him dangerously. Now normally Natsume would care less if he got to sit by Mikan or not, but this time was personal. Koushiro glanced at Natsume for a moment before quickly turning away, not liking the evil spark in the black cat's eyes.

"S-so… Sakura-san," Koushiro stuttered out, handing the girl a menu. "W-what would you like to order?" Mikan gratefully took the menu from the boy, while grinning happily. Natsume stood there, glaring daggers at Koushiro, but the boy only responded by trying to ignore the fire caster's stares, which only angered Natsume more. It wasn't until he felt someone tug at his sleeve, before he stopped trying to burn holes through Kunomasu's head. He quickly changed his facial expression to a bored one, before turning to face his best friend.

"Sit down, Natsume," Ruka ordered his friend. Natsume just stared at him for a moment before seating himself down in the chair across from Mikan, followed by Ruka, who took his seat across from Koushiro.

"Natsume," the said boy looked up at Mikan, who was holding a menu out to him. "Here's your menu." She smiled kindly at him, making the boy's cheeks grow warm. He hid it by looking down and snatching the menu out of her hands roughly.

"I could have gotten it myself," he told her coldly, obviously not in the best of moods. Mikan narrowed her eyes at that, but calmed herself. She knew that Koushiro was paying for all this, so she wanted everyone in a good mood. She silently sat back in her seat.

"Are you all ready to order?" a bubbly girl came bounding over to their table, notepad in hand.

"Oh.. I haven't looked at the menu yet," Mikan said apologetically. The waiter just smiled kindly at them. Meanwhile, Natsume was scanning over the menu, trying to find the most expensive meal on there.

"Might I suggest the special?" she asked helpfully. "It has a wide variety."

"We'll just all take that," Koushiro told the waiter, before glancing at Ruka and Natsume. "Err… if that's okay with you two…" He trailed off nervously. Ruka just nodded his head.

"That's sounds fine," he told Koushiro calmly. Natsume just grunted, tossing his menu carelessly down on the table.

"Whatever," he mumbled, looking away. The waiter scribbled that down, before skipping away.

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Dinner was uncomfortably and awkwardly silent. Everyone just picked at their food quietly. Natsume stared off into space with that bored expression on his face, while carelessly stuffing food into his mouth. Mikan ate awkwardly, taking small, dainty bites as she kept her eyes down at her plate. She didn't know why it was that she felt so awkward. It was probably the fact that Koushiro kept stealing glances at her and it was making her nervous. What made it worse was that the girl knew that Koushiro was feeling awkward too. His face was red and he kept turning away from her. What Mikan didn't notice was that every time Koushiro glanced at her, Youichii would give him a threatening look.

"Onee-chan," Youichii suddenly spoke. Mikan glanced at him, glad that there was something to get her mind off feeling uncomfortable.

"What is it, You-chan?" she asked him politely, giving him a gentle smile. Youichii just blinked up at her innocently.

"Are you going to marry Natsume Onii-chan?" Another awkward silence followed. Koushiro choked on his drink, causing him to almost fall back in his chair. Natsume smirked and leaned over toward Mikan, wanting to hear her answer. Mikan's cheeks grew warm with embarrassment as all eyes were now on her. The girl shifted in her seat nervously. She just continued to sit there in stunned silence. Youichii reached up and tugged on her sleeve.

"Onee-chan!" he called out to her. "Will you?" Finally, real words started to come from her mouth.

"Y-You..chan.." she choked out. "What are you talking about?!" Before the boy could do anything to get a straight answer from the girl, Natsume just had to have his input.

"Don't flatter yourself, Little Girl," the flame caster warned as his smirk widened considerably. "Why would I want to marry an ugly idiot like you?" Again, silence. Natsume watched in amusement as Mikan's body shook with anger. Ruka slapped a hand over his face in amazement. Leave it to Natsume to ruin a golden opportunity to hear what Mikan really thought of him.

"Why you-!" she stopped mid sentence. She took a deep breath and silently reminded herself that she was supposed to put everyone in a good mood. She gritted her teeth together and shakily sat back down and resumed eating. Natsume rose an eyebrow at her. He wasn't done yet.

"Let's be reasonable," he went on, enjoying himself. "We all know that you want me." Mikan didn't answer for a moment. She silently picked up her fork, getting prepared to throw it at him, but stopped herself and slammed in down on the table instead. Natsume was really starting to annoy her, but she knew that she couldn't let Koushiro's money go to waste. She took at deep breath in and stared at Natsume calmly.

"No, I don't," she denied darkly. Natsume stared at her for a moment, before deciding to press further. Mikan's patience was running out and he could feel it.

"You're right," he finally said, as if defeated. Mikan's eyes widened. He was giving up? "There is no way we could be together. You're too ugly and stupid for me." Apparently not. Mikan's eyes widened in stupefied shock. She suddenly stood quickly and slammed both hands down on the table in front of her with great force, before screaming at the top of her lungs.

"WELL WHY WOULD I WANT TO MARRY SOME PERVERTED JERK LIKE YOU?!!" The whole restaurant went silent. Mikan slowly calmed down before realizing how loud she had been. Everyone and I mean everyone was staring at her. She blushed and slowly sat herself down.

"And loud," Natsume added. Mikan gave him a threatening look and sunk lower in her chair. Youichii finally looked satisfied as he finished up his food silently.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Thank you so much for tonight, Kunomasu-san," Mikan spoke gratefully and bowed. She grinned up at him happily. "I had fun tonight." The 5 of them somehow managed to make it out of the restaurant safely. They were all gathered outside the girl's dormitory, just about ready to go their separate ways. Koushiro just grinned sheepishly.

"I… had fun too," he finally told the girl. He was really referring to their time in Central Town, since the dinner didn't exactly go as he had originally planned. There was an awkward moment where they just stared at each other. Koushiro hesitated for a moment before taking a step closer toward the girl. Mikan blinked in surprise as Koushiro slowly leaned forward. His whole face was red as was Mikan's, but for some reason, she couldn't move. There faces were inches apart now and all Mikan could do was stand there like a statue. Kunomasu leaned in … and tripped, causing him to fall flat on his face. Mikan's eyes widened as she felt herself being pulled backwards. She stared behind her and saw Natsume holding onto her wrist.

"Oh no! Kunomasu-san! Are you hurt?!" She stared down at the fallen boy, before she noticed Youichii not far away, with his foot sticking out in the perfect tripping position. She glared at the seven year old, who just gave her a bored look in return. Ruka just stood a little ways away, looking amused. The animal pheromone chuckled quietly.

"We should get going," he informed the group. "It's getting late and we have classes in the morning." Kunomasu stood and dusted himself off.

"W-would you like me to walk you to your room?" Koushiro asked Mikan politely. Mikan was about to answer, but a dark aura that suddenly surrounded the area stopped her. Natsume stood there with a look of murder all over his face.

"It's getting late," he ground out darkly. "We're going in now." He said this with so much force that no one found it worth it to argue. His eyes sparked dangerously. Koushiro suddenly agreed that it was in fact late and that they should definitely get going. He gave Mikan an apologetic look.

"I can get there alone," she announced. She turned to go. "Good night."

"Good night, Sakura." Ruka said politely.

"G-good night.. Sakura-san," Kunomasu put in kindly, grinning shyly. Mikan nodded in thanks and went into the girl's dormitory. It was silent as the four boys just stood there.

"Oi, Kunomasu," Natsume's voice broke everyone from their thoughts. Koushiro looked up quickly.

"Y-yes?" he asked meekly. The boy swore that Natsume was going to burn him when he saw the black cat's raging maroon eyes.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into." With that being said, Natsume Hyuuga turned and walked calmly toward the boy's dormitory, with Ruka and Youichii following close behind. Koushiro Kunomasu just stood there for a moment, before slowly making his way into the boy's dormitory as well.

Natsume was right… he really had no idea was he was getting himself into, but for Mikan… he was willing to take that risk.

To be continued…

A.N- Okay.. chapter 8 is finally finished! Sorry for the long wait everyone! I had fun writing this one and hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! Please review!

-PurpleHime


	9. Reasons and Reactions

"You really don't have to apologize, Kunomasu-san," Mikan told the nervous boy that was sitting next to her during lunch. "I really did have fun last night." Koushiro just stared down at the table, obviously not convinced. In is opinion, the date was a total disaster. Aside from their little Fluff Puff picnic, nothing had gone the way the boy had planned. The guilt and embarrassment had nagged at him all last night and all he could do now was apologize to Mikan. 

"I really am sorry," the boy repeated downheartedly. "I really expected it to have turned out better then it did. We didn't exactly have a nice and peaceful meal like I had planned." Mikan's face suddenly grew warm with embarrassment as the events of last night's dinner replayed in her head. 

"It really wasn't that bad," she told him gently in an attempt to comfort him. She smiled shyly at him. Kunomasu blushed slightly. He really loved the girl's smile and for some reason, he always found himself smiling back at her. The boy's smile faltered as he spotted a certain raven haired flame caster a couple tables away from them. Koushiro actually found it a miracle that he was able to get a table for just himself and Mikan. Both Natsume and Ruka seemed to be watching him like a hawk ever since he was revealed as Mikan's admirer. 

"You don't know what you are getting yourself into," Natsume's voice rang in the boy's head over and over. It just didn't make any sense. Although Koushiro would never admit it, he had been watching Mikan ever since she came to the academy 4 years ago. After seeing the way Natsume has treated the girl over the years, he had come to a seemingly accurate conclusion….

You could hardly even call the two friends. 

It all made perfect sense to him. Natsume always seems to be insulting her in some way or another. Whether it was about her looks or simply about her everyday habits, Natsume found something to insult her about. Not only that, but the two were constantly arguing. It happened way too often nowadays that the students who used to watch these quarrels grew bored, knowing that it would always end the same with Mikan yelling at Natsume's back, while the black cat just walked away from her. And yet, Natsume and Ruka both seemed to be near Mikan all the time. 

"Sakura-san…" Kunomasu's voice trailed off nervously, but he had to ask her. "What is your relationship with Natsume-san?" Silence filled the table, deafening its only two occupants. Koushiro watched Mikan intently as the brunette simply blinked at the question. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she thought about it. 

"My… relationship?" she asked slowly, sounding unsure herself. "With… Natsume?" She blinked again. Kunomasu nodded, confirming this. He looked down at his hands nervously, waiting to hear her answer. When he finally looked up, he saw that Mikan still had that look of confusion on her angelic face. His cheeks grew warm as he began to panic. 

"Y-you don't have to tell me!" he blurted out. He froze and looked down at his untouched meal, his face growing warmer. "I-it's just that… Natsume-san sometimes looks as if… he could be… your boyfriend..so.." He mentally kicked himself for just saying it so bluntly. He looked up at the brunette nervously in order to see her reaction. The young nullifier had a look of horror plastered on her face as a blush made its way onto her cheeks. 

"W-what?!" Koushiro flinched as the brunette's face became a dazzling shade of red. He waved his arms in front of his face. 

"I-I'm sorry!" he blurted out. "It's just that I-" Mikan cut him off. 

"It's fine," she told him, her face still a dark tomato red. "N-Natsume… he's .. just a f-friend…" Her voice trailed off as she stared down at her plate. She looked up when she heard Koushiro sigh and she was somewhat surprised to see him grinning shyly. 

"Oh o-okay," he blushed and smiled happily. "I'm glad. What about Ruka-kun?" Mikan grinned at the mention of the animal pheromone. 

"He's also one of my great friends!" she told the boy, glad that they were done talking about Natsume. "He's dating Hotaru now so…" She trailed off, not knowing what else to add on to that subject. Koushiro nodded, accepting this piece of information. It was then that they noticed everyone heading out of the cafeteria. 

"Guess we should head back to class," Koushiro stated, amazed at how fast that seemed. He threw away his forgotten lunch. He turned back to Mikan and the two headed out and back to class B. "Thank you for sitting with me today." Mikan just smiled at him kindly. 

"No problem." 

Ruka sighed in content as he made his way back to the boy's dormitory after taking care of the animals at the barn. Ever since he had been dating Hotaru, he realized that he had been spending less time with the animals. He missed them terribly since that aside from Natsume, the animals were the only ones who kept him company, before Mikan came to the academy anyway. 

"R-Ruka-kun!" The young animal pheromone swiftly turned around at his name, only to be face to face with Koushiro Kunomasu. The blonde blinked in surprise at the nervous looking boy in front of him. The brunette stared down at the ground before nervously making eye contact with the animal pheromone. 

"Umm… Ruka-kun… uhhh..do you…" Ruka just stared at the boy as he stuttered helplessly. Why was Kunomasu even talking to him? 

"What is it?" Ruka finally asked, somewhat irritated. He didn't hate Koushiro or anything, but the fact that he was getting in the way of Natsume and Mikan's relationship bothered the blonde. 

"I-I … I think that you sh-shouldn't go near Sakura anymore!" Koushiro finally blurted out in a rush, but Ruka heard it anyway. Kunomasu quickly lowered his head and looked down at the ground nervously. He didn't dare look up at Ruka until the boy's shocked voice reached his ears. 

"W-what?" was all Ruka could think to mutter. He found his eyes turning into thin slits as Koushiro quickly tried to explain. 

"T-that's ..not what I meant!" he squeaked out. "I-It's just that.. b-both you and Natsume-san… spend so much.. time with her..and I-" 

"What's wrong with that?" Ruka demanded, cutting the boy off. Koushiro stepped back and swallowed nervously. This was a lot tougher than he thought it would be, especially since Ruka was usually the laid back one. He wasn't so sure anymore, especially since now Ruka looked as if he wanted to strangle him. 

"I-It's just that people will get the wrong idea!" Koushiro cried out exasperated. He scratched at the back of his head and looked away from Ruka, wishing now that he hadn't said anything to him. 

"Ruka, what's going on?" Natsume came and stood next to his best friend. His crimson eyes narrowed when he spotted Kunomasu. Koushiro shivered under the withering look he was getting, wishing that he could just turn and run away. 

"Natsume….. uhh.. nothing," Ruka finally answered. No one, not even Koushiro, deserved the wrath of Natsume Hyuuga. Koushiro, however, was truly foolish and decided to put his life on the line.

"N-Natsume-san," Koushiro choked out, suddenly not feeling too sure of himself, but went on anyway. "W-what.. is your relationship with Sakura?" Natsume didn't answer right away. Right now, he was debating whether to strangle this punk or not. He didn't show his emotions of course and kept on his usual bored expression. 

"It's got nothing to do with you," he replied coolly. Koushiro was silent for a few moments as he took this in before asking another question that neither boy had expected him to have the guts to ask. 

"D-do you… like her?" The silence was deafening. Ruka stared at his best friend as something flashed in his crimson eyes, but only for a moment. This was it. If Natsume went ahead and admitted that he liked Mikan, then he would actually have the right to get Koushiro to back off. Neither, Ruka or Koushiro could tell if Natsume was even thinking of a proper answer as the boy's crimson eyes stayed transfixed on Kunomasu. 

"No," The flame caster denied in the most emotionless voice imaginable. "I don't like her." Ruka slapped a hand over his eyes in amazement. Koushiro's eyes widened. He obviously wasn't expecting this answer and was obviously pleased about it. Now all that was left was to tell his opinion. 

"T-then.. if that's true," Koushiro went on foolishly. "I-I think.. that it w-would be best if you just… stayed away from her." Ruka looked at the boy in amazement. He actually sounded pretty confident about this…TOO confident. Ruka cautiously peered over to see Natsume's reaction and found raven bangs hiding crimson eyes. 

"Natsume," Ruka whispered nervously. Then, the blonde heard the scariest thing imaginable. Natsume growled. Before Ruka could do anything, Natsume grabbed Koushiro by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall of the boy's dormitory. Ruka watched silently, with wide eyes as his best friend lifted Koushiro off the ground by his shirt. 

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Natsume's voice was quiet but deadly as he tightened his grip on the boy's shirt. His raging maroon eyes seemed to bore holes into the poor brunette boy. 

"I-I'm sorry!" Koushiro choked out as he tried to break free from Natsume's grip on him. His eyes were wide and frightened. Ruka hesitated, but as soon as he saw Natsume's free hand make a small flame, he knew he had to intervene. 

"Natsume stop!" he yelled at the black cat. Natsume wasn't listening. He brought his hand up and prepared to burn Koushiro, but a loud, shrill voice stopped him. 

"Leave him alone you jerk face!" Natsume turned his head to stare at his Polka dots, but didn't loosen his grip on his captive. 

"Sakura!" Koushiro exclaimed when he saw her, a look of relief clearly etched across his face. 

"Stay out of this, Polka dots," Natsume told the girl firmly. "This has nothing to do with you!" Little did Mikan know, it had everything to do with her. All three boys were shocked when they saw tears slide down the brunette's cheek. 

"Why are you doing this!" she screamed at the flame caster, making Ruka and Koushiro flinch. "You're such a jerk!" She ran forward and grabbed Natsume's arm. Because of her nullification alice, the flame in Natsume's palm immediately went out. 

"Sakura-san," Ruka spoke softly, stepping forward. He paused, not really knowing what to say. "I-it's not… Natsume was just.." Mikan wasn't listening. She was staring up at Natsume with a look of confusion and anger. 

"Why are you doing this, Natsume?" she asked quietly. "Let him go." Bangs covering his eyes, Natsume roughly dropped Kunomasu and turned away from the two. Mikan immediately went to Koushiro's side. 

"Are you alright?" she asked softly, setting a hand on his shoulder. Koushiro gasped, trying to catch his breath. 

"F-fine," he choked out, putting a hand against his neck. Natsume glanced at the two in disgust before turning away and walking off. 

"Let's go, Ruka," was all he said before heading back into the dormitory. Ruka glanced over at the two as well, before quickly following after his best friend, leaving Koushiro to stare after them while Mikan fussed over him. 

"What's Natsume's problem?" he heard Mikan mutter under his breath. 

"Right now, I think I'm his biggest problem," he thought to himself gravely. Koushiro knew what he wanted though and he wasn't going to give up. He cared about Mikan too much to give up, even if it meant going against the Natsume Hyuuga himself. 

A.N-Okay!! Chapter 9 is up and running! I know that everyone was kinda ooc, but I hope that you all enjoyed it anyway! Please review! 

-PurpleHime


	10. The REAL chapter 10

"Dear Grandpa, the Alice Festival is coming up and everyone is already preparing for it. This year, a bunch of us from the Special Abilities class is planning on putting on a play. It should be a lot of fun! Ruka and Hotaru have gotten really close ever since they started dating and Natsume is still the jerk he's always been. I also learned recently that I have a secret admirer who I had gotten to be nice friends with. I don't know what to do about him yet, but please don't worry about me! I'll write again soon!

-Mikan"

"What's that you got there, Mikan?" Mikan looked back over her shoulder at Tsubasa, who was curiously looking over her shoulder at the letter.

"Just another letter to my grandpa," Mikan answered simply, smiling cheerfully at her senpai. They were currently in the Special Abilities Class. Everyone had gathered and were currently working on the plans for the play. "So, what play are we doing?" Tsubasa rolled his eyes at his kohai.

"Well, I'll just say it again, since you weren't paying attention," the shadow manipulator began. "After talking it over, we finally decided to do Aladdin for the play." After hearing that, Mikan's eyes went wide with childish excitement. She stood up and turned to face Tsubasa.

"Alright! Aladdin is one of my favorites!" she cheered, getting more excited by the second. "Have you guys decided on parts yet?" Tsubasa just grinned down at her and shook his head.

"We were just about to start," he told her simply. Misaki suddenly came over to them and stood next to her boyfriend.

"Was there any part that you wanted, Mikan?" she asked curiously. Mikan looked up at the ceiling and thought for a moment.

"Umm.. not really," she told them finally. She smiled. "I don't think it really matters…I think that any part would be fun!" Tsubasa and Misaki shared a look and grinned. Of course she would think so.

"Well, it's already been decided," Misaki went on. "That Tsubasa here would play the part of Aladdin." Mikan's eyes widened as she stared up at her senpai in amazement. Tsubasa just grinned sheepishly and put a hand behind his head.

"Actually," Tsubasa said, winking at Mikan. "It was more like Misaki wanted to see me play the part of Aladdin." Misaki's only reply was to roll her eyes at her boyfriend. Mikan blinked before turning to grin at Misaki.

"Oh so that means that Misaki-senpai is going to play the part of Jasmine, right?" the brunette concluded, but she was surprised when Misaki just shook her head. Mikan tilted her head in confusion.

"Unfortunately, I'll be busy helping everyone else set up the other attractions," she explained to the nullifier. She turned and grinned at Tsubasa.

"So, we were hoping that you would play the part of Jasmine," Tsubasa finished. Mikan's eyes widened in surprise.

"M-Me?" the girl stuttered out, clearly shocked. "As Jasmine? B-But…. I Don't even look anything like her! Isn't her hair black?" She asked, before tugging on her light brown locks for emphasis that she looked nothing like the princess. Tsubasa just shrugged and rolled his eyes.

"Why does that matter?" he questioned the younger girl. "Snow White's hair is black, but that Nogi kid had no problem playing her, even though his hair is blonde." Mikan grinned slightly at the memory of Ruka in that Snow White costume. She giggled, but her face went serious once more as she turned to look at Tsubasa.

"But Misaki-senpai would make a much better Jasmine then me," Mikan argued. "And she's your girlfriend too! She should have the part." Tsubasa just shrugged.

"I told her the same thing," he told the girl simply. "But she already decided that everyone else won't be able to run the other attractions without her there. And when she says she's going to do something, trust me, she'll do it." Mikan was about to argue further, but stopped and decided that they wouldn't change their minds no matter what she had to say.

"I guess I could do it," she finally mumbled. Tsubasa heard however and grinned widely.

"I knew you'd see it my way."

--

Ruka really wasn't one to get angry very often, but here he was walking down the hall with his eyes set into thin slits. The things he did to try and get Mikan and Natsume to confess were killing him. The boy was currently heading toward the Special Abilities Class to try out for the upcoming Aladdin Play that seemed to be what everyone was talking about these last couple of days. When he had first heard about the play that the Special Abilities Class was performing, the last thing that he planned to do was participate. He hadn't been in a play since the Snow White Play that his fifth grade class had done not long after Mikan first came to the Academy. That had been 3 years ago, but Ruka felt as if it was too soon for him to be trying out for another play.

Ruka Nogi sighed heavily as he walked toward the Special Abilities Class. The boy ran a hand through his blonde hair in frustration. He thought about how much easier his life would be if his best friend would quit being a coward and just tell Mikan how he really feels for her. The animal pheromone rolled his ocean blue eyes as he thought about the events that led to him having to participate in yet another play.

Flashback…

"Mikan-chan! I heard that you were going to do a play!" Anna squealed excitedly, making her way over to Mikan's seat once class let out. Mikan smiled at her friend and nodded her head.

"Yeah, we're going to do Aladdin," she explained as Nonoko came and stood next to Anna.

"I heard that Tsubasa-senpai was playing Aladdin and that you were playing Jasmine!" the blue haired girl added, her eyes sparkling. Natsume, who was currently sitting next to Mikan, allowed his manga to slide off his face after he heard this statement.

"Yup!" Mikan confirmed cheerfully.

"How romantic!" Anna and Nonoko sighed together dreamily, with stars in their eyes. Natsume's ruby eyes narrowed as he thought of his Polka-dots and that stupid Andou together. He clenched his teeth together angrily. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Mikan chuckled nervously.

"I would've thought that Misaki-senpai would make a much better Jasmine than me," Mikan told the two, thinking back to her conversation with Tsubasa. "Since she is Tsubasa-senpai's girlfriend and all."

"Oh, but you and Tsubasa-senpai would look cute together!" Anna blurted out without thinking. Nonoko nodded her head, agreeing completely with her friend's statement.

"Yea! You two would look cute!" the blue haired girl agreed, not noticing that the room was growing warmer. "But only if Natsume-kun didn't-" Nonoko's blue eyes suddenly went wide as she clamped both hands over her mouth. Anna's eyes widened as well as the two girls glanced over at the Kuro Neko, who had set his manga back over his face. Luckily, Mikan was oblivious to what Nonoko was going to say and simply followed their gazes over to the flame caster.

"Huh? What about Natsume?" Mikan questioned, completely clueless to what was going on. Not knowing how much more he could take of this, Natsume stood up from his seat and walked out the door, quick enough so that no one could make out his slightly pink cheeks. Ruka, who had been watching this whole scene unfold, ran to catch up with his best friend.

"Hey, Natsume!" Ruka called, once his friend was in sight. Natsume froze and waited for the blonde to catch up. Once his best friend had caught up and was standing beside him, Natsume began to walk once again. The two walked in silence for a moment, before Ruka decided to break the quiet.

"You know," Ruka spoke out of the blue. "It would make everything a lot easier if you just told Sakura the truth." It was then that Natsume stopped walking. He just turned and stared at his best friend with those raging maroon eyes. Ruka just stared back at him with just as much intensity, wanting to know why Natsume couldn't just tell Mikan how he felt. He had told Hotaru, so why was it so hard for Natsume?

"You know that I can't," Natsume told Ruka simply. Ruka rose an eyebrow at this.

"Actually… I don't," Ruka countered. "There really isn't any good reason why you can't just confess already."

"There are a lot of reasons," Natsume mumbled, running a hand through his hair. Ruka just stared at him as his blue eyes narrowed.

"Oh really?" he taunted. "Well then give me one good reason Natsume." When his best friend failed to answer, Ruka continued. "Do you really want to see Mikan up on stage pretending to be in love with Andou?" Natsume sighed. Ever since that incident with Imai(if you don't remember, than refer back to chapter 3) he hadn't been bothering to try and deny his feelings for Mikan from Ruka. Natsume glanced at his best friend before muttering.

"No…" Ruka grinned a little.

"Good," At least they were getting somewhere.

"I don't want that to happen."

"Good."

"That's not going to happen." Natsume smirked as he said this.

"Good."

"There's no way that that is going to happen." Another smirk from the black cat.

"Good."

"Because you aren't going to let that happen," Natsume concluded, grinning.

"Good.. wait.. what?!" Natsume smirked at his best friends reaction and so a plan was created.

End Flashback…

It was a simple plan. The plan was that Ruka would try and take the part of Aladdin away from Tsubasa. This way, Natsume would be more comfortable with the play since Ruka was his best friend and because Ruka was dating Hotaru. If Ruka got the part of Aladdin, he would have nothing to worry about. Ruka sighed once more as he approached the Special Abilities Class.

"What are we going to do?" Mikan exclaimed. "No one wants the part!" Tsubasa came up behind her and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Well… you can't really blame them," he told the girl in an attempt to comfort her. "I personally wouldn't really want to play the part of a rug either." He went on, putting emphasis on the word "rug".

"But that's just it!" Mikan exclaimed, exasperated. "It's not just a rug. It's a magic carpet!" Tsubasa just shrugged, not really worried that they haven't found anyone to take the part of the magic carpet, yet. They had found parts for all the other characters, which he was grateful for.

"We'll find someone to take the part," he went on. "We still have time." Mikan turned to look at her senpai.

"But Tsubasa-senpai!" she whined childishly. "We've asked nearly everyone and we still couldn't get anyone to take the part." She set her head down on the desk in front of her in defeat. She stayed that way until she heard the door creak open.

"Uhh.. excuse me," Mikan's eyes widened as she saw Ruka poke his head into the room. The brunette immediately stood, an idea flashing in her brain.

"Ruka-pyon!" she exclaimed a little too excitedly, flashing him one of her sunniest smiles. "Are you here to try out for the play?!" Her eyes were wide with hope. Ruka smiled slightly at her and stepped fully into the room.

"Yeah actually," he told her. "I-" He was cut off when Mikan grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the back of the room.

"Great!" she exclaimed, leading him toward a chest filled with costumes. "I already have your costume all ready Ruka-pyon!" Ruka blinked in confusion as Mikan dragged him across the room.

"Uhh… actually Sakura… I actually wanted to-" he was cut off once again as Mikan pulled out a measuring tape out of her pocket and began to measure his arms and legs. She smiled up at him happily.

"Oh! I'm so excited Ruka-pyon!" she told the bewildered blonde. "The costume will fit you perfectly!" Ruka was about to try and explain to Mikan that he wanted to play the part of Aladdin, but didn't even have the chance to open his mouth before Mikan grabbed him and settled him down into a wooden chair. The animal pheromone simply watched as the nullifier began to dig in a wooden chest filled with clothing.

"Found it!" Mikan exclaimed gleefully, before turning around to hold up the clothing for Ruka to see. "It'll look perfect on you, Ruka-pyon!" Ruka just stared at the piece of fabric in Mikan's hands in bewilderment. It was a beautiful shade of purple with the most elaborate patterns. It was a semi-large rectangular shape that Ruka recognized all too well.

"T-this is…" the blonde finally choked out, before giving Mikan a startled look, hoping that she wasn't going to make him do what he thought she was going to make him do. Mikan just grinned at him happily and Ruka was startled to see Tsubasa and Misaki giving him similar grins to match Mikan's.

"Thank you so much for deciding to be in our play, Ruka-pyon!" Mikan thanked him, sounding eternally grateful. "You'll make a wonderful magic carpet!" Hearing that last statement, Ruka immediately jumped up to argue.

"Uhh.. actually! I came here to get the part of Al-" The rest of his sentence got caught in his throat as Tsubasa gave him a playful slap on the back.

"Good luck to you, Nogi," Tsubasa congratulated him. Then he smirked. "Don't worry. This will be a lot easier than your Snow White role." Ruka's ocean blue eyes widened as he tried once again to explain himself.

"But you don't understand!" he exclaimed exasperatedly. He froze when Mikan came up to him with those irresistible puppy eyes of hers.

"Please Ruka-pyon!" she begged pitifully, looking close to tears. "You're our only hope! No one else will take the part! You'll be doing us all a huge favor! Please?" Ruka sweatdropped at her pathetic look and sighed heavily. He knew that Mikan wouldn't let him leave the room if he didn't agree. "Sorry, Natsume, I tried," he finally muttered under his breath, before turning to look at Mikan.

"Alright," he sighed tiredly, regretting that he had even come here for Natsume. "I'll do it." The corners of Mikan's lips tilted upwards and her eyes were now sparkling with joy. Ruka almost fell back when Mikan threw herself at him and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you so much, Ruka-pyon!" Mikan squealed, happy now that all the parts were covered. Ruka glared over the brunette's head at Misaki and Tsubasa, who were getting awfully close to laughing out loud.

"So much for the plan," Ruka thought to himself, as he allowed Mikan to hug him. This year's Alice Festival was going to be very interesting.

A.N- Yes! The real chapter ten is now completed!! Reviews will be very much appreciated! Will update… on my set deadline. If some of you haven't noticed… the days where I have to update are posted by Froggy-Coffee-Bean, my editor and close friend. If you want to know when my next update is.. just wait for her review to come!!

-PurpleHime


	11. Chapter 11

"A-Andou-senpai is playing Aladdin?" Koushiro asked in shock, pure jealousy obvious in his shaking voice. He and Mikan were once again sitting alone together for lunch, much to Natsume's annoyance. Mikan, who hadn't noticed the jealousy in Kunomasu's eyes, merely smiled and nodded her head.

"Uh-huh!" she answered brightly. "It's going to be a lot of fun! But I still thought that Misaki-senpai would make a much better Jasmine than me." She frowned at the thought. She still couldn't figure out why her two senpais seemed so eager to make her Jasmine. The young brunette had even offered to be in charge of the other events and let Misaki be Jasmine, but Misaki wouldn't even consider that idea. She insisted that Mikan should be the one to play Aladdin.

"Uhh… S-Sakura-san," Koushiro suddenly spoke softly, breaking Mikan out of her thoughts. She turned to look at the boy questioningly.

"What is it?" she asked him, tilting her head to the side cutely. Koushiro's face began to heat up. He immediately averted his eyes downward, trying to keep down his blush.

"Errr… if you don't mind me asking.." he went on, his cheeks now a pastel pink. "How did you decide on parts? Did you have tryouts?" Mikan blinked a couple of times before shaking her head.

"No exactly," she began to explain. "But Tsubasa-senpai did mention that if there was more than one person who wanted a certain part, than we would have fair tryouts." Koushiro nodded, absorbing this information.

"So why do you ask?" Mikan questioned him in a cute tone. Then realization flashed in her eyes. "Did you want to try out? You know, you should have told me before…" Koushiro just shook his head before shrugging sheepishly.

"Err… I wasn't really planning on it," he explained simply. Then he smiled at the girl shyly. "B-but I think it would be a lot of fun…" _To be in a play with you, Sakura-san, _he murmured mentally to himself. He let his chocolate brown hair fall slightly in front of his face as he blushed. His felt his eyes widen suddenly when he felt Mikan's tiny hand slip into his underneath the table. He almost jumped out of his seat in surprise. Mikan smiled at him warmly.

"C'mon then," she exclaimed, tugging the boy's hand. "I think Tsubasa-senpai and Misaki-senpai are in the Special Abilities room right now, so we can do the tryouts before we go back to class. I think we still have time.." Koushiro could say nothing as he allowed himself to be led out of the lunch area by the girl of his dreams.

Nxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnx(break)mnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxmnxm

"Natsume!" Ruka cried out in frustration as they walked down the hall. Instead of eating lunch with everyone else, the two best friends decided to skip lunch and hang out at the barn since Ruka hasn't been there in a while. Natsume stopped walking to look at the blonde. His hands were casually stuffed in his pockets and as usual, he had that bored expression plastered across his handsome face. He blinked at the animal pheromone questioningly.

"What is it, Ruka?" he asks that so casually, but both boys knew that Natsume knows very well what was on Ruka's mind. Ever since Ruka had been named the "Magic Carpet Man" only a couple days before, the blonde had grown even more determined to get Natsume to confess his feelings toward Mikan. Ruka glared at his best friend with those icy blue eyes that clearly read, "You already know what I'm going to say, so don't ask me that as if you don't."

"You know very well "What is it" Natsume!" Ruka exclaimed. He paused for a second, realizing how bad his grammar sounded just then, but chose to ignore it. Natsume had been playing Mr. Cool long enough. "Is this how you plan to live your life Natsume?" The said flame caster blinked once again in confusion, but other then that, Ruka got no true reaction from him.

"What are you talking about?" he finally asked, sounding somewhat irritated. They went through this more often than Natsume could handle. It was as if Ruka enjoyed annoying him about Mikan. And for some odd reason, no matter how many times Ruka lectured Natsume on how he simply has to confess to Mikan sooner or later, Ruka always had something new to say about it.

"I'm talking about what you're doing now, Natsume!" Ruka spoke dramatically. "Is this how you plan on living? Do you really wish to wait and watch until the last possible moment? And what then, Natsume? Do you really plan on even chancing it that Mikan will still be available to you five years from now? Or even ten years from now? And what if she isn't, Natsu-"

"You know, this sounds suspiciously rehearsed, Ruka," Natsume told the boy dryly. Ruka felt his cheeks grow warm. He wasn't about to tell the flame caster that he actually had this same speech written down on paper. Nor was he about to tell him that he had actually rehearsed this in front of Yuu and Koko, who had helped him edit it. He cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes at his friend.

"Don't try and change the subject Natsume," Ruka went on, feeling irritated. "And anyway, what if Mikan is no longer available to you by the time you decide to-" Ruka was once again interrupted when Natsume dove at him and firmly set a hand over his mouth. It took a couple seconds for Ruka to figure out why Natsume had done that, until he heard footsteps coming their way.

"So what part do you want to try out for…" Mikan's voice trailed off when she spotted Natsume and Ruka just a couple yards away from them. She grinned widely and waved to them energetically.

"Natsume! Ruka-pyon!" she called to them. Natsume removed his hand from Ruka's mouth. Ruka sighed as Mikan came running toward them, with Kunomasu right behind her. He watched as Natsume grit his teeth together angrily, trying to control himself.

"Hey, Sakura," Ruka greeted the girl softly, smiling gently at her. "Where are you two headed?" Mikan grinned happily at him in return and Ruka smirked once he saw Natsume's expression soften right after.

"I should be asking you two that," she replied. "I thought that you two were still in the cafeteria." Ruka just shrugged.

"We decided to skip lunch today," Ruka explained. "We were just at the barn." Mikan nodded in understanding.

"Oh, well, Kunomasu-san and I were headed to the Special Abilities class," she told the two happily. Then she turned to look at Koushiro. "So which part did you want to tryout for, Kunomau-san?" Koushiro didn't answer right away. He was currently glancing at Natsume, who looked as if he could kill him right on the spot. He sweatdropped before clearing his throat to answer.

"Err.. I was going to try out for the part of… Aladdin…" he found himself mumbling. Mikan's eyes widened in surprise as she blushed. Ruka shook his head in amazement.

"This guy must have a death wish or something," he thought. Natsume was being deathly silent and Ruka was surprised that the temperature didn't rise at all, nor was anything catching on fire. He looked toward Natsume questioningly only to see that the flame caster seemed relatively calm. When he did open his mouth to speak, it was directed at Koushiro.

"I didn't know that this lowlife could act," he smirked dryly. Koushiro blinked in surprise as well, definitely not expecting this reaction. Mikan glared at him in annoyance.

"Stop being mean, Natsume," she scolded, narrowing her eyes at him. "I bet that Kunomasu-san could act better than you." Of course, Mikan didn't mean that, but Natsume was beginning to get on her nerves. Natsume however, rose an eyebrow in amusement.

"Are you challenging me, Little Girl?" he smirked, knowing how much she hated every one of his nicknames he had for her. Mikan blinked in surprise before shaking her head quickly.

"No," she spat in annoyance. "And don't call me little girl! I'm 14 years old you know!" Ruka suddenly stepped forward, with a sly smile on his face. An idea danced in his blue eyes.

"He didn't mean anything by it, Sakura," he told the girl softly. "It just so happens that Natsume is trying out for the part of Aladdin as well." A deafening silence filled the area.

"What?!" Mikan and Koushiro exclaimed simultaneously, their eyes wide in surprise and their jaws nearly touching the floor. Natsume glared daggers at his best friend and Ruka just stood their triumphantly, enjoying the reactions he was receiving. Then Hotaru, who just happened to be passing by, snapped a picture of the awkward moment before continuing on her way.

A.N-All I can say is… I'M SORRY!! I'M REALLY REALLY SORRY!! I know I am suppose to be updating on my set deadlines.. but…. There's just so much that has been happening lately I guess… I'm actually REALLY nervous since I will be participating in the state science fair tomorrow. I've been working on my display and other stuff… so I'm sorry! I know this chapter is short, but my editor demanded that I have an update up today… I'll update again on my deadline!!

-PurpleHime


	12. I'm sorry, I love you!

Tsubasa Andou stood awkwardly in the special abilities class, with 4 pairs of eyes staring up at him. Needless to say that he had been very surprised to hear that not only Koushiro wanted to try out for Aladdin, but that the super bad flame caster, Natsume Hyuuga, insisted on trying out for Aladdin as well.

It was pretty obvious that the two boys were trying out for personal reasons. It couldn't be more painfully obvious that Koushiro was doing this for Mikan than it was that Natsume was extremely pissed off. Koushiro looked downright jealous as he watched Mikan hold the flame caster's hand, but what he didn't realize was that Mikan was only holding Natsume's hand because she knew that if she didn't, Natsume would've burned the whole building down by now.

"So that's it then?" Tsubasa finally questioned the group. He rose an eyebrow at Ruka who seemed very happy with himself at the moment. "We're having a showdown?" Ruka looked up at his senpai, his blue eyes shining with mischief.

"It would seem so," he nodded, confirming this.

--

"What are we doing here again?" Mochu asked, suppressing a yawn. Sumire, who was sitting in the chair next to him, hit the poor boy over the head.

"For the last time," she exclaimed in annoyance. "We're judging the showdown between Andou-senpai, Kunomasu, and Natsume." Yuu, who was sitting on Mochu's other side, was looking through some papers on the desk in front of him. He silently adjusted his glasses.

"I just hope that this all ends peacefully," the blonde haired boy mumbled, mostly to himself. "Natsume looked pretty serious about winning this thing." Koko looked pretty laid back from his spot next to Yuu. His hands were set behind his head as he leaned back in his seat.

"Then in other words," the mind reader began, a smirk evident on his lips. "It would be best if Natsume got the part." Mochu looked over at Koko in confusion.

"Why is that?" he asked, looking lost. Koko rolled his eyes.

"Isn't that much obvious?" he asked, sitting up straight in his chair and looking at the rest of the assigned judges. "If Natsume loses and gets angry, than there will be no peace of anyone."

"Well, of course Natsume should get the part," Sumire exclaimed stubbornly. "He is the only one who is fit for the part!" Hotaru, who had been forced to judge as well, stood up from her seat next to Koko and shot both the mind reader and Sumire with her baka gun.

"Quit making it so painfully obvious who it is that you are going to favor," she said surprisingly in a monotone voice. She sat back down and began working on one of her inventions. Sumire stood up angrily.

"You aren't fit to judge either, Imai!" she yelled at the inventor. "Look at you! Sitting there, working on your invention!" Hotaru stood up calmly and shot Sumire once again with her baka gun. The poor girl fell back in her seat. Koko laughed openly, but shut up once Hotaru gave him a look.

Everyone looked up once Mikan poked her head out from behind the curtain of the stage. The same stage that they had done the Snow White play on. She waved happily to Hotaru before speaking.

"We're going to start soon!" she announced the five judges. "So please just wait a little longer. We decided to start off by showing you how Natsume, Koushiro and Tsubasa senpai each look in the Aladdin costumes. Then you guys have to vote who looks best in each costume." With that being said, Mikan disappeared back behind the curtain. Sumire grinned happily.

"Of course Natsume-kun is going to look the best in those costumes!" she exclaimed. This time, Hotaru took her horse shoe glove and sent Sumire flying across the room. She coolly blew the smoke illuminating from it before silently sitting back down. Mochu, Koko, and Yuu sweatdropped. Mochu turned to look at Koko and Yuu.

"Imai seems scarier than usual," he murmured softly, so that only Koko and Yuu could hear him. The two nodded in agreement. Koko grinned happily.

"She's annoyed because of Ruka-kun," he explained, earning a lot of knowing looks from the others. They were all aware that the two were dating now as well. Mochu looked thoughtful.

"What did Ruka-kun do to make Imai that way?" he whispered, glancing at Hotaru who looked bitter and annoyed as she worked on her invention. Koko glanced back at her as well before bringing his voice down even softer than before.

"Ever since Ruka has been trying to get Mikan and Natsume together, he's been-" Poor Koko never got to finish before he got a taste of the horse shoe glove as well. The impact was so great that the poor mind reader crashed into Yuu, who crashed into Mochu, who crashed into Sumire. The four of them all went crashing to the ground, along with the chairs that they had been sitting on. She glared hard at Koko, who was perched on top of the pile of chairs and teenagers.

"We're about to begin," Ruka Nogi announced, revealing himself from behind the curtain. He blinked at the scene before him. His girlfriend was sitting calmly at one end of the table, while the other four judges lay in a pile of now busted up chairs. Trying to debate whether he should ask or not, Ruka made his way over to the pile. He offered his hand to Yuu, who had somehow managed to get himself under Koko and on top of Mochu. Yuu took Ruka's hand gratefully, but couldn't pull himself up with Koko on top of him.

"Koko, could you get off of me?" Yuu asked calmly. Koko tried to get up, but his leg somehow got caught underneath Mochu, who was under Yuu. Ruka let go of Yuu's hand and stood back, watching the four struggle to get up. Sumire tried to untangle her hair since it got tangled up with Yuu's glasses.

"Do I want to know what happened?" Ruka inquired, no longer hiding the fact that he was amused. Mochu glared at him from under Yuu.

"I blame you, Ruka," he muttered. Ruka just stared at him.

"Why?" he asked, looking confused. Mochu huffed.

"This wouldn't have happened if you didn't go and make Imai angry," the levitator explained simply. Ruka was even more confused now. He turned to look at his girlfriend, who was staring back at him emotionlessly.

"Hotaru?" he questioned, making his way over to her. Hotaru took out her baka cannon and shot the desk in front of her, sending it flying toward Ruka, who dodged it just in time. He gave her an incredulous look which she returned with a glare.

"Hotaru," he called her name, trying to get her attention. "What's wrong?" Ruka thought hard, trying to figure out what he had done wrong this time.

"You're a bad boyfriend, Ruka-kun," Koko said from on top of the pile. Ruka gave him a confused look. "Ever since you've been trying to get Natsume and Mikan together, you've been ignoring Imai." Ruka blinked, before turning to look at his girlfriend. That couldn't be true… could it? First off, Hotaru didn't seem to be the type to get upset over being ignored. Ruka thought again. When was the last time he had really spent time with her alone? His eyes widened when he realized that he couldn't remember. Was it really that long ago? He suddenly felt like a jerk. He slowly walked over to the stoic inventor and set a hand over her baka cannon. He pushed the weapon down so that he could look into his girlfriend's dark violet eyes.

"Hotaru," he muttered softly, not knowing what else to say. "I'm so sorry… " He looked at her sadly when he got no reaction. He hesitated before bending down to kiss her on the cheek. He sighed in relief when she didn't pull away or hit him, but again, no reaction. His eyes widened when Hotaru tiptoed to kiss him softly on the lips. The usually stoic inventor wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's neck.

"Awkward," Koko muttered, not that the couple noticed anyway. They were too busy getting lost in each other. Ruka wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist. Ruka soon lost his balance and fell back with Hotaru on top of him. It wasn't until they hit the floor when Hotaru pulled away.

"I won't tolerate it if it happens again," she warned the blonde. She smiled very VERY slightly, just so that Ruka could see that he was forgiven. Ruka sighed happily as he hugged her.

"Okay! Everyone! We're about to begin-" Misaki began as she poked her head out from behind the curtain. She froze. Ruka was on the ground with Hotaru on top of him, all the desks were tipped over, and the rest of the judges were piled on top of each other along with the chairs. She grinned. "Everyone ready to start?"

A.N- yea yea… I know I know… I'm a day late, but at least it's better than last time where I had you guys waiting for a week… my lame excuse this time is that I was at the movie theatres last night until 11:30p.m. sorry! Maybe I'll meet my deadline next time! Haha.. anyway! This chapter is dedicated to someone very special to me, who just recently had a birthday! I love you! (blush) (cough) anyway! Also, thank you to all my reviewers so far! I'm glad you all like my fic! Be sure to let me know who you guys want to play Aladdin!

-PurpleHime


	13. Aladdin will be played by

A few days have passed since the showdown between Tsubasa, Koushiro and Natsume and everyone still had yet to find out who would be Aladdin. The whole school was talking about it. There wasn't one person on campus who didn't know about the upcoming Aladdin play. Everyone was excited about the play, but what really got everyone worked up was the school festival. The biggest event of the year was just around the corner and everyone was doing their part to make it the best festival yet. Well… almost everyone..

Natsume Hyuuga sat at his usual spot, under his usual cherry blossom tree, reading his usual action/horror manga, while the rest of his peers ran around getting things set up. No matter how many Alice Festivals he's been through, the flame caster just couldn't think it any other way than a stupid and pointless event that everyone gets so worked up about over nothing.

"Hey! Natsume!" the said boy's ears perked up at the sound of his crush's voice. Of course if anyone was to get super worked up over such a pointless event, it was going to be her. Not only was she playing one of the lead roles in Aladdin, but she was also helping everyone else as well. Well, maybe not EVERYONE, but to Natsume she might as well be. She was playing Jasmine, helping with preparation for the last dance, working with the rest of the Special Abilities class in order to get their addition to the festival set up, and she's even helping out at the haunted house attraction. The last one especially bothers Natsume, since he knows that Mikan can't stand the haunted house.

"What is it, Polka?" Natsume grumbled as the brunette approached him. She smiled at him, not even bothering to scold him about the nickname this time. Instead, she settled herself down in front of him. She grinned excitedly from ear to ear. Natsume stared at her calmly, a bored expression etched across his features. He may have seemed careless, but he was actually really curious as to why the girl decided to approach him. He rose an eyebrow, trying to get Mikan to think that he was getting annoyed with her.

"Natsume!" Mikan squealed animatedly. She leaned in toward him slightly, still smiling brightly. "Guess what?!" Her chocolate brown eyes were shining excitedly as she leaned in toward him, their faces just a few inches away from each other. Natsume's face began to heat up slightly, but he hid it well by glaring at her.

"I'm not going to guess, Polka," Natsume told her firmly. "So just tell me, before I decide to burn you." Mikan pouted cutely, her cute smile now clearly wiped off her face. She crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance.

"Mou…" she began to complain. "You could at least try to pretend to care!" Natsume shrugged carelessly, wishing that the girl would just hurry up and get to the point. He rolled his eyes as a "hmph" escaped Mikan's lips. She turned her back to the boy in front of her. Natsume waited silently for the nullifier to say something more. He tried to be patient as he stared at Mikan's back. It only took a few minutes for his patience to wear thin.

"Are you going to tell me or continue to stand there looking like an idiot?" he finally asked her, trying to sound calm. It wasn't until Natsume said that that Mikan decided to turn around. She definitely looked unsatisfied. She glared hard at Natsume and her arms remained crossed over her chest.

"No," was Mikan's short and simple reply. Natsume grit his teeth together impatiently and clenched his fists. He took in a deep breath before replying.

"Fine then," the black cat spoke indifferently. "It's not as if I care anyway-" Before Natsume could even finish his sentence, Mikan suddenly whirled around and got right in the flame caster's face, grinning from ear to ear once again.

"Well, since you really want to know.." she beamed, ignoring Natsume's bewildered look. "I'll tell you!" Natsume shut his eyes and leaned back against the tree, knowing somewhere deep down that Mikan would've ended up telling him anyway.

"So anyway!" Mikan went on. "You know how for the last couple of years during the last dance, it was always the girl's choice right?" Natsume opened his eyes when Mikan didn't say more and realized that she was waiting for him to answer her. He rolled his eyes.

"And…?" he pressed, somewhat urging her to continue while doing his best to sound indifferent at the same time. Mikan nodded and took this as a sign meaning that he remembered.

"Right, so, anyway!" she gushed, making Natsume nearly gag. "Instead of making it the girl's choice like last year and the year before…It's been decided that this year it's going to be guy's choice!" If possible, Mikan's smile got wider than ever. Natsume just stared at her in confusion. Was that really all she wanted to say? What did that have to do with him anyway?

"So?" was what Natsume did say, before flipping through his manga once more. "And what does that have to do with me?" Mikan blinked back innocently, making it painfully obvious that she had been expecting a completely different reaction from the boy. She pouted.

"Well, I just thought it was something you'd like to know," she explained. She grinned once more, but not as big of a smile as her previous ones. "I'm excited though!" She didn't say anything else and stared at Natsume expectantly. The boy looked up from his manga briefly to see that Mikan was staring at him.

"What is it?" he nearly growled. Mikan tilted her head to the side slightly.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm excited?" she asked, making it sound like he was supposed to. Natsume shrugged and turned back to his manga.

"You're going to tell me anyway," was the flame caster's reply. "So go ahead and do it already." He stopped reading to look at his crush once more. And of course, she was smiling again.

"Okay!" she exclaimed. "Well, I'm excited because instead of me wondering who I'm going to pick for the last dance, it might be possible for someone to choose me instead!" Natsume's ears perked up at this information. He set his manga down before glaring at the girl in front of him.

"And why would someone choose you?" he grit out angrily, his eyes growing a shade darker. Mikan didn't notice however. She took the insult seriously though. She matched Natsume's glare with one of her own.

"Well.. Ruka mentioned that he would've chosen me one year.." she trailed off.

"Yea.. before he got with Imai," Natsume countered smugly. His eyes grew darker when he thought about how his best friend had a crush on Mikan a few years back. Fortunately for Natsume, Ruka later fell for Hotaru.

"Well… there are a lot of other guys in this school," Mikan tried to reason. And this was true. Mikan had grown into a beautiful girl in the last few years. Mikan was able to learn from Koko that she did have some admirers floating around.

"There are also a lot of girls," Natsume argued back evenly. Mikan thought about this for a moment.

"Hey…do you think that.. Kunomasu-san is going to ask me?!" she suddenly shrieked, somewhat horrified by the idea. The manga in Natsume's hands slowly began to burn. Mikan noticed this and nullified it quickly, giving Natsume an incredulous look.

"Natsume? What's wrong?" she asked concerned, when she noticed that the boy's hands were shaking. She kneeled in front of him and grabbed both of his hands in hers. Natsume kept his bangs in front of his eyes.

"You just.. don't get it.. do you?!" he demanded, looking into the girl's eyes intensely. Mikan shrunk back slightly at the sudden anger in Natsume's voice, but she didn't let go of his hands. It took her a moment to realize that Natsume was gripping her hands tightly as well. Her almond eyes went wide.

"N-natsume?" she murmured, feeling shocked and confused at the boy's sudden behavior.

"Hey! Mikan-chan!" the two quickly jumped away from each other at the sudden voice. They turned around and saw Yuu, Anna, Nonoko, Koko, Ruka, and Hotaru running toward them. Well, except for Hotaru, who was walking calmly behind them.

"Oh! Minna-san! What is it?" Mikan asked in surprise. She stood up to greet the group.

"Oh! Mikan-chan!" Nonoko exclaimed. "Didn't you hear?!" Mikan looked confused.

"Hear what?" Mikan questioned, blinking in confusion.

"They posted the parts up for Aladdin!" Anna explained. Mikan's eyes went wide. Natsume stood up from his seat, his burnt up manga lay forgotten on the ground.

"Oh! Really?!" Mikan exclaimed in shock. "Did you guys see them already?!" Yuu nodded his head.

"Yea, we did," he told Mikan, glancing at Natsume nervously. "And…" he trailed off. Ruka took over and spoke directly to his best friend.

"Natsume," he said to his best friend. "The one who will be playing Aladdin-"

"Will be Kunomasu." Hotaru interrupted, cutting Ruka off. Natsume looked away, as Mikan's eyes went wide.

A.N. I am sooo sorry!! T.T I can't believe I actually had the nerve to keep you all waiting for this long!!. Please please please forgive me! But then again.. I probably don't' even deserve your forgiveness.. since I don't really have that great of an excuse.. I guess… since its summer.. a lot has happened.. and….. yea.. I'm pathetic.. I'll try harder from now on! And thank you for those who have read this far… and can ever forgive me! I'll update as soon as I can!

-PurpleHime


	14. The way it was meant to be

Natsume was just about to chuck his brand new manga at Koushiro's head as he watched rehearsals for the upcoming Aladdin play drag on for what seemed to him like an eternity. He wasn't even sure why he had come to watch anyway. Ruka who had been standing right next to him backstage, was now on stage playing his part in the scene. Poor Ruka was already in his rug costume as Mochu levitated him up toward a fake balcony. Natsume would've found his best friend's miserable look somewhat amusing, if it weren't for the scene that was being practiced.

The balcony scene just before they get to singing "A Whole New World" was definitely not one of his favorite scenes. In his honest opinion, Aladdin is acting like a complete idiot. It annoyed the heck out of him to think how much better he would have done if he had been in Aladdin's shoes.

"Do you trust me?" Koushiro asked, dressed up in his Aladdin costume as well. He was standing on top of Ruka now and was holding his hand out toward Mikan with a cheesy grin plastered across his face. Natsume nearly gagged. He was really tempted to burn Aladdin right now. He refrained from trying however for two reasons. The first was that he could harm his best friend. The second reason was that he could also harm the love of his life on accident. So he stayed put and watched silently and angrily.

The rest of the actors seemed to be enjoying themselves, unlike Natsume. The music had started already. Mochu was standing a little bit away from Natsume, levitating Ruka, Koushiro, and Mikan around to make it seem as if the carpet was flying.

"That's it Mochu!" Narumi cheered. "Nice and steady now. Try making them go a little higher.. great job!" The teacher was grinning from ear to ear, obviously enjoying this very much.

Natsume's eyes actually widened just a little when he heard Mikan sing. He stared at the girl he loved, slightly surprised. Her voice was beautiful. She hit each and every note perfectly and her voice was naturally high, so she was a natural. Koushiro was actually a good actor and a decent singer, not that Natsume would ever admit that. It actually surprised the flame caster, since Koushiro doesn't seem to be the type to be good at acting or singing.

Natsume didn't fail to notice how many guys, who were dressed as commoners, stared up at Mikan in awe. Narumi grinned in approval up at his "daughter." He was pretty much glowing with pride. Natsume rolled his eyes. He looked back up at Mikan. She looked like she was having so much fun. She was smiling widely with Koushiro as her Aladdin… and that made Natsume angry. He took a deep breath but wasn't able to control how angry and upset he was feeling. He felt his body heat up greatly. He clenched his teeth together tightly, possibly hard enough to make them crack. His eyes opened when he heard a sudden scream of fright.

He wasn't surprised when he discovered that he had set Mochu's shirt on fire. The poor boy screamed and ran around frantically. Natsume watched him calmly until he heard another scream that had him turning swiftly around. His eyes widened. The magic carpet was now spiraling out of control since it had been Mochu who had been controlling it. Ruka and Mikan were yelling for someone to help them. All three went flying toward the fake balcony.

"Mikan-chan!" Narumi yelled. He turned to a couple of students. "Put that fire out quickly!" The students ran off to do so as fast as they could. Natsume watched with wide eyes as the three finally collided with the balcony. Both Koushiro and Mikan went falling toward the ground in opposite directions while Ruka continued to be controlled by the freaking out Mochu.

"Ahhh!" Mikan screamed, pummeling toward the ground. Natsume didn't waste too much time. He ran as fast as his legs would take him and put himself directly under Mikan. He was determined not to let her get hurt. He braced himself before Mikan fell on top of him. Natsume caught his princess in his arms. Unfortunately, the weight was too much for him to handle, and they both hit the ground. Mikan ended up on top, a little dazed, but otherwise unharmed. Natsume slowly wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the moment that they could be this close without anyone getting suspicious. He smirked when he saw Koushiro on the ground clutching his left leg in pain.

Natsume stared down at the girl on top of him. He still had his arms wound tightly around her, pulling her against his chest. The poor girl was shaking with fear. Her almond colored eyes were shut tightly. She was probably thinking she had already died. He slowly sat up with Mikan on his lap.

"Oi, Polka-dots," he murmured, holding the girl up by her shoulders. Her eyes were still tightly shut. He shook her a little. "You aren't dead yet, Little Girl… " He tried to remain emotionless as the Nullifier finally opened her eyes to look at him. Her two chocolate orbs widened a little when she saw him.

"N-Natsume?" she mumbled, sounding unsure. She looked around. "W-what happened..?" She watched silently for a moment as Mochu, who was no longer on fire, slowly lowered Ruka to the ground. Then finally, she realized that Natsume was underneath her. Her mouth formed a small "o" as she finally put the pieces together to figure out that Natsume had broken her fall. Before Mikan could form anything else to say, she was interrupted by a loud shriek.

"Oh! Kunomasu-san! Are you alright?!" Mikan turned quickly and her eyes went wide in shock when she saw Koushiro on the ground with a few students crowding around him. Mikan immediately stood, much to Natsume's disappointment, and quickly made her way toward the crowd. Natsume watched in annoyance as the girl kneeled by Koushiro and began to fuss over him.

--Scene Change--

Before Natsume knew what had happened, he found himself sitting next to Mikan at the infirmary, waiting to hear how Koushiro was holding up. Ruka was on Mikan's other side, waiting silently as well. The raven haired boy banged his head on the back of his chair, bored out of his 14 year old mind. They had been sitting here for nearly an hour, but there was no way Natsume was going to leave Mikan with Koushiro. Ruka sat silently with a magazine while Mikan leaned on his shoulder, now fast asleep. Ruka didn't even look up as Natsume tugged on the girl's arm so that she was now leaning on him.

"Since Kunomasu-san is injured," Ruka began, setting his magazine down on the table in front of them. "We're probably going to have to look for a replacement Aladdin if his injuries are too serious." Natsume smirked, making it terribly obvious that he wasn't feeling any guilt at all, despite the fact that it was his fault Koushiro had gotten hurt.

"There's no way he'll be able to go through with the play," Narumi's downhearted voice caught the two boy's attention as they looked up to find the teacher walking into the room. He frowned unhappily. "He broke his leg and has two fractures in his left arm.." It was then that Mikan decided to awaken. She rubbed at her eyes tiredly.

"Oh! I should go see if he's okay!" she exclaimed, standing quickly and running into the other room. Ruka quickly followed after her with Natsume, who went a few paces slower than the two.

"Kunomasu-san!" Mikan exclaimed when she saw the boy on the hospital bed. His right leg was now in a cast and his left arm was being held up with a sling. He smiled lovingly at her as she approached him. Her brown eyes were filled with worry. "Are you alright?" Koushiro nodded as he gave the girl a gentle smile.

"I'm okay, Sakura-san," he reassured the girl. Then he frowned sadly. "I'm just a little disappointed is all." He nodded toward Ruka and Natsume as the two boys entered the room. Ruka waved casually as Natsume grunted in acknowledgment. Mikan frowned and tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"How come?" she murmured sadly. Koushiro glanced toward Natsume briefly before looking into his crush's eyes intently.

"Now I won't be able to do the play with you, Sakura-san," he frowned sadly and looked down at the bed sheets. "I was really looking forward to it." Mikan looked down at the ground, her cheeks growing warm. Natsume rolled his eyes, feeling disgusted. Mikan looked up a couple moments later, a grin plastered across her face.

"You really are a great actor, Kunomasu-san!" Mikan exclaimed, making Koushiro look away. "And you can sing really well too!" It was then that the girl noticed that Koushiro wouldn't even look at her. Ruka noticed as well that he had a whole new emotion set into his features. What was it? Guilt maybe? Natsume rose an eyebrow at this.

"Well," Koushiro began, looking as if he wanted to dig a hole and bury himself alive. "That isn't the real me. I'm actually a horrible actor and I can't sing very well either." Everyone besides Koushiro looked confused at this. Didn't they just see him acting and singing first hand?

"But you were amazing out there, Kunomasu-san," Mikan told the boy in a bewildered tone. Her head spun with confusion. Was that not Koushiro she was with on stage? The boy shook his head.

"I never did get to telling you my Alice, Sakura-san," he mumbled, in a voice barely audible, but everyone in the room heard him. "I have the Character Changing Alice. It allows me to possess pretty much any personality I want it to. I took advantage of my Acting Character today. In reality, I'm really shy and unsure of myself most of the time." The whole time he spoke, he kept his eyes downcast and scratched at the back of his head sheepishly.

Everyone suddenly understood. Even Mikan, who was usually slow, noticed how shy Koushiro usually was. It suddenly all made sense how he suddenly seemed so confident and was able to act and sing so well. It was now clear to Ruka and Natsume as well as the two thought back to a few days ago when Koushiro suddenly had the guts to confront both boys. (A.N-If you're lost, please refer back to chapter 9) Natsume thought back to how Koushiro had boldly told him to stay away from Mikan. The flame caster also remembered how Koushiro had been jumping back and forth from being confident to being shy and timid. He must've been using his confident character on and off that day.

"But your Alice is a gift, Kunomasu-san," Mikan assured the boy, grinning widely. "It may not be who you really are, but you were still amazing. Whether you were using your alice or not…you did great!" Kunomasu blushed and smiled shyly.

"Thank you," he whispered. He shyly took Mikan's hand in his. Mikan's eyes widened. Koushiro blushed brightly, but had a look of determination in his almond eyes. A bright red tinted the girl's cheeks.

"K-Kunomasu-san.." she murmured, embarrassed. Natsume would've broken his good arm if it wasn't for Ruka holding him back. Even so, Ruka also had a disapproving look dancing in his blue eyes.

"S-Sakura-san," Koushiro began strongly. He took a deep breath before continuing. "W-would it be alright if I called you… Mikan? And.. you can call me by my first name!" He said the last part in a rush. Mikan stared at him for a moment and finally nodded her head in agreement, her cheeks still tinted pink.

"Sure.. Koushiro-kun.." she said slowly, testing it out. She grinned softly as Koushiro blushed even harder if possible. Ruka felt the heat in the room intensify to the point where he was sweating, so he decided that now was a good time to intervene.

"We still need to find a replacement Aladdin," he announced, hoping that would distract everyone. It was then that Narumi bounded into the room.

"Then it's settled then!" the teacher exclaimed grinning. He paused for a moment at the confused looks he was getting before voicing his idea. "Well naturally it shall be Natsume who will play Aladdin!" Three shocked faces didn't stand a chance against the one smirking one that belonged to Natsume Hyuuga himself.

"WHAT?!"

A.N-Well! There you have it! Chapter 14 of To Be Admired is up and running! Yay! Koushiro's Alice is finally revealed after how long..? And I noticed how many ppl were disappointed that Koushiro was playing Aladdin at first so I had to do something! Hope you all enjoyed! Please review!

-PurpleHime


	15. Stunned Speechless

"Polka, what are you doing?!" Natsume practically yelled up at Mikan. It wasn't a very smart move since the girl was currently standing on top of a ladder, hanging cobwebs on the ceilings of the haunted house attraction. The girl shrieked in surprise and tipped on the ladder slightly, but was able to balance herself so that she didn't fall off. Once she was sure she wouldn't fall off, she turned slightly to stare down at the flame caster, shocked at his sudden appearance.

"Oh Natsume!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening. She now realized how high up she actually was. She shuddered as she spotted a fake zombie hanging just a few feet away from her. "Erm… I was just hanging up the last of the fake cobwebs." Natsume rolled his eyes. He noticed immediately how frightened she was to be in here.

"I can see that much," he muttered, just barely loud enough for her to hear. "What I wanted to know is why are you still helping out in here when everyone else left to take a break?" Natsume himself hadn't been one of the volunteers, but tried to made it sound as if he was, so that Mikan wouldn't question him coming here to check up on her. From her place on the ladder, Mikan shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not sure why they're taking a break," she told the boy. "They really shouldn't though. The haunted house is scheduled to open up in a few short days and it still isn't even close to being ready yet. Besides, I don't need a break anyway." She shot him a brief smile, before turning back to her work. She wouldn't admit it to Natsume, but she was scared out of her mind, being in the haunted house by herself. She was secretly hoping that he wouldn't leave her to work on this by herself.

Natsume growled under his breath. Even from his place on the floor, he could see the light bags under Mikan's eyes. He was well aware that the girl had been helping out a lot lately these past few days. Many of her friends have already scolded her for working so hard, but she was just too stubborn. Even Natsume noticed how she seems to be in 10 places at once lately. She has been helping everyone she comes in contact with, much to Natsume's annoyance.

"Get down from there already!" the flame caster practically yelled at her. His crimson eyes narrowed when the girl glanced at him briefly, before going back to work.

"No way!" Mikan exclaimed. "We need to get this part done by tonight at the least, Natsume!" Her hands moved quickly as she hung the cobwebs above her head. She fumbled with a piece, trying to get it untangled. Natsume was about to yell at her again, when an idea struck.

"Fine then!" he called up to her, trying to sound angry, which was pretty easy for him. "You do what you want! I'm leaving!" He turned to go and walked away slowly, counting backwards from five in his head.

"Wait!" Mikan yelled, before Natsume could even get to two. He smirked before turning his head to look at her emotionlessly.

"What now, Little Girl?" Natsume held back another smirk as he watched the girl hesitate before she murmured in a soft voice.

"You're going to leave me here alone?" Thanks to his keen hearing, Natsume heard every word very clearly. He shrugged his shoulders, trying to give the girl the impression that her being alone in here was no concern of his.

"Hn." A vain popped out of the girl's head, making it even more difficult for the black cat to hide his amusement. He simply stared at her calmly as Mikan's chocolate brown eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"How about giving me a real answer, Natsume?" she growled at him. "And why would you want to go out there anyway? I thought that you didn't like the Alice Festival."

"I never said that I didn't like the stupid festival," he mumbled so low that Mikan couldn't even hear it. The truth was that he enjoyed the festival because it seemed to make Mikan happy. Of course, with an ego as big as Natsume's, it'll take a while for that fact to be voiced. "And I have a ton of better things to do than waste my time in here with you. Have your new friend keep you company." He motioned toward the fake zombie dummy that was facing Mikan. Silence followed this statement. Natsume waited for a few more seconds to hear her answer, but when Mikan still didn't say anything, he simply began to walk away once again.

"Ahh! Okay okay! I'm coming!" Mikan practically squeaked at the thought of being alone again. She carelessly tossed the remaining cobwebs on a random hook that was hanging from the ceiling before scrambling down the ladder. Natsume turned around and smirked when she saw her making her way down the ladder as fast as she could. His eyes widened when the poorly hung cobwebs above her suddenly fell from its hook. It landed right on Mikan's face, making her scream and let go of the ladder so that she could wave her arms around frantically. She tipped backwards and fell quickly toward the ground.

Fortunately for the brunette, Natsume wasn't even standing ten feet away from the ladder, so he was able to easily move himself directly underneath her. And since Mikan had already been more than halfway down the ladder, the impact from her fall wasn't as strong, so Natsume was able to catch her easily without falling himself.

"This is the second time this week that I've had to rescue you," he whispered hotly in Mikan's ear, making her blush. "Are we going to be making this a habit of yours, Cherry Print?" Mikan shook her head quickly from side to side, too embarrassed at the moment to speak. That was until she finally took in his last comment. Her chocolate eyes went wide in shock before they filled up with rage. She narrowed her eyes dangerously and clenched her fists so hard that they were shaking. Natsume watched all of this in amusement. Mikan's teeth were gritted together so tight that the flame caster was sure they were going to fall out soon. He smirked at the enraged nullifier before blowing in her right ear softly. Mikan paled.

"NATSUME! YOU PERVERTED JERK!" she shrieked as loud as she could. Natsume squeezed his eyes shut and flinched away from her slightly. He tightened his hold on the girl so that she wouldn't fall.

"Hey, it isn't my fault you decided to show them to me, Cherry Print," he grinned at her mockingly. Mikan's face went from being pale to being a bright red from both anger and embarrassment.

"I-I WASN'T TRYING TO SHOW THEM TO YOU, YOU JERK FACE!" she protested angrily, still yelling at him as loud as her voice would allow. "THAT WAS THE LAST THING ON MY MIND!" Natsume rolled his eyes, knowing very well that this would only anger Mikan further.

"This is your fault, Cherry Print," he told the girl simply, liking the new nickname that he gave to her. "What kind of idiot would decide to climb a ladder while wearing a skirt?" Mikan just glared hard at him, before shoving his chest. The point was to get him to let go of her, but instead all this resulted to Natsume losing his balance and falling backwards. Natsume fell back with Mikan lying on top of him, but what stunned him speechless were Mikan's warm lips that were firmly locked onto his own.

A.N-Hehe! Okay… everyone is going to hate me for this cliff hanger.. 0.0.. oh well.. I thought it was the perfect place to stop! I love Mikan and Natsume moments and there aren't that many in this story and that's where this idea came up! Just a note to my editor, Froggy Coffee Bean.. umm.. naoo! You can just make my deadline in about another two weeks like you usually do, k? And if you could make it on a weekend since we're starting school soon that'd be nice! okay! Please review ppl!

-PurpleHime


	16. Mikan's an idiot!

Mikan's eyes went wide when she finally realized the position that she and Natsume were in. She immediately tries to get off the boy. If possible, her eyes doubled in size when Natsume grabbed her by her arms, restraining her. Mikan was too shocked to struggle. Before she could do or say anything, Natsume had somehow managed to get on top of her. He leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers.

Mikan was panicking. What was Natsume doing?! The boy's lips were warm and soft against hers. Even so, she was able to get her composure back quickly to struggle against the boy on top of her. However, Natsume was way stronger than Mikan. The girl pushed against his chest with her hands, but Mikan is so weak that Natsume didn't seem to notice. He continued to kiss Mikan softly, obviously losing control of himself.

Natsume has never felt this way in his whole life. He had thought about what it would be like to kiss Mikan, but never dreamed that he'd be able to this soon. She tasted so sweet, like strawberries, only much, much sweeter. He was completely lost in the moment. Nothing seemed to matter right now.

"N-Natsume!"

It was then that Natsume froze, his eyes finally opening to look at the girl below him. His eyes went wide as he took in her appearance. Her hair was a bit disheveled and her skin seemed to have paled considerably. She was almost as white as a sheet, except for her cheeks, which were a bright pink with embarrassment. But what caught the boy off guard the most were the girl's eyes. Her two beautiful chocolate orbs were filling with tears from both fear and confusion.

Natsume was off of her in less than a second, his bangs now covering his own eyes. The silence between the two was deafening as they both did their best to compose themselves. Mikan was panting heavily after a kiss like that one. Her heart was thumping wildly in her chest. She sat up quickly and tried to look anywhere in the room, except for at Natsume, who still hadn't moved even an inch since he had gotten off of her.

Seconds turned into minutes as the two continued to sit in silence, neither knowing what to do or what to say. A few more moments passed before Natsume decided to lift his head to look at the confused girl across from him in order to see her reaction to the kiss that he badly wanted to repeat.

Mikan was aware that Natsume was now staring at her, but couldn't find it in herself to meet his gaze. She continued to keep her head turned away from him with a light blush that still tainted her cheeks as her head spun. The brunette shifted slightly as Natsume's crimson eyes practically bore holes into her. Her head snapped in his direction when she heard him growl in irritation.

"Say something, Polka-dots!" he demanded, but with a slight begging tone etched in his voice. He stared at her intently, his eyes practically pleading with her to answer. Mikan took a sharp intake of breath, not knowing what to say.

"W-what do you want me to say…." She mumbled softly, averting his gaze once again. "I…I don't have anything to say…" She wanted to run when Natsume stood up and made his way over to her. Mikan froze as the boy sat in front of her. He looked into her eyes, trying to read her face.

"Say you hated it," he muttered, following her eyes when the girl tried to look away. "Say that you liked it. Just say something!" This girl was driving him crazy! He had to know what she was thinking. He needed to know that she didn't hate him at least. Mikan refused to meet his eyes. She couldn't think, but she didn't need to. She knew that she was confused and slightly afraid of the flame caster now. She couldn't say anything to him right now. She didn't know what to say.

"I-I don't know," she muttered, in a barely audible voice. She glanced at Natsume briefly to see that his bangs were covering his eyes once more. She shrieked as the black cat grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her down on the ground. He was once again on top of her.

"Just tell me what you're thinking already!" he spat, all signs of being calm now gone from his face. His eyes had gotten a few shades darker as he glared down at her. Mikan's eyes went wide as the tears began to spill over. Natsume stared down at her with agonized eyes, not understanding the reason for her tears. She looked so fragile when she cried.

"N-Natsume… stop.." she said, turning her head away from him. "Get off me…" Her voice was so soft, almost frightened. Natsume froze, finally realizing that he was the cause of her tears. He slowly loosened his grip on her shoulders, but didn't get off of her.

Mikan relaxed ever so slightly when Natsume loosened his death grip on her. However, she was still tense and reluctant to look at him.

"Whatever," Natsume muttered, finally standing up. Mikan sat up immediately, but didn't bother to stand. She stared at the boy's back as he faced away from her. She wiped the tears from her cheeks, feeling exasperated. She needed to say something.

"I.. I wanna know why Natsume…" Natsume turned to face her, his eyes darkening. Mikan stared at the boy for a moment before continuing. "Why… did you ki-kiss me?" Mikan's eyes continued to be filled with confusion as Natsume shot her an incredulous look. Mikan's eyebrows pulled together as she stared at the boy.

"You really are an idiot." Mikan's eyes doubled in size. She was silent for a moment, before her eyes narrowed into slits.

"W-why am I an idiot?!" she shrieked, pretty sure that she never felt this much confusion in her life. "I didn't do anything!" Natsume didn't answer right away. He just stared at her, clearly amazed by her stupidity. The boy didn't answer. Instead, he turned away from the girl and made his way out of the haunted house. Mikan immediately stood and ran after him.

"Hey! Wait!" she yelled. "What are you talking about?! How am I an idiot?!" Natsume continued to ignore her. He blushed slightly as the girl grabbed his arm. The two made their way out of the haunted house together.

"C'mon Natsume!" she exclaimed as they walked. "Tell me! How am I an idiot?!" Mikan fumed as she was once again ignored. Natsume knew that he couldn't tell her his feelings now, after he had made her cry like that, but he was determined to tell her eventually.

_"I'm not going to lose,"_ he thought darkly to himself.

A.N-Not one of my best chapters…. I'm sorry! But I have school tomorrow so this was somewhat rushed! Please read and review!! Crud.. I'm starting high school tomorrow…sobs anyway!! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	17. Venting is a good thing

"Natsume, did something happen yesterday?" Ruka Nogi questioned his best friend as the two made their way to where the Last Dance was to be held. If possible, the whole school was even more abuzz than it had been a couple days ago. What with the Alice Festival finally starting the next day, everyone seemed to be everywhere at once in order to get things done. This time, Natsume was no exception.

"Nothing happened yesterday," he lied casually. In truth, that kiss that he shared with Mikan was still fresh in his mind. Ruka gave him a confused side ways look.

"Really?" he mumbled, unconvinced. He stroked the dove on his shoulder slowly. "Because.. she seemed pretty flustered yesterday when you two met up with us. Even Hotaru seemed worried about her. She says that Sakura has been acting strangely since yesterday and she wants to know if you had anything to do with it." The animal pheromone blinked as a look of guilt flashed in the black cat's eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly as it had come. The look of indifference replaced it, making Ruka sigh.

"She's too stupid…" he heard Natsume mumble. Ruka noted that he sounded frustrated, but he didn't miss the slight sadness that Natsume's crimson eyes portrayed.

"What happened, Natsume?" It showed in Ruka's ocean blue eyes that he was concerned. He watched as Natsume shrugged before absentmindedly kicking a stone that happen to get in his path.

"I confessed," he replied, making Ruka's eyes grow wide. He stopped walking in astonishment. Natsume continued to walk, but stopped as well to look back at his best friend in confusion.

"What?" Ruka's mouth was hanging open slightly.

"You… confessed?" he confirmed slowly. His lips began to twitch upward at the corners.

"She was too dumb to realize it though." Silence followed.

Ruka's face fell. Of course it was too good to be true. He shot Natsume a confused look. The flame caster just stared back, his expression emotionless.

"What exactly did you say to her?" his voice held suspicion. He himself knew how dense Mikan could be. He knew that Natsume was aware of it as well, so why…?

Natsume remained emotionless as he told Ruka everything that had happened in the haunted house the previous day. Starting with how he had went there to fetch her, all the way to how she had kissed him. He also mentioned how he had gotten carried away and kissed her as well and how when Mikan had asked him why he had done it, he hadn't answered her and instead called her an idiot.

Ruka slapped a hand over his eyes in amazement. He had the perfect opportunity to confess and he blew it! Mikan and Natsume would probably be happily together right now, but they weren't. Natsume blinked in confusion when Ruka lowered his hand to glare at him.

"You had the perfect opportunity Natsume," Ruka finally mumbled, shaking his head. "This whole thing could've been avoided if you had just taken that golden opportunity that you had. Sakura is dense Natsume. You of all people should acknowledge that fact. She won't be able to fit the pieces together like other people would. You have to be straightforward." Ruke knew that Natsume knew that he was absolutely right. The silence that followed confirmed that. Natsume didn't answer and instead started walking once more. Ruka sighed exasperatedly, but followed.

"Ahh… Natsume-kun! Ruka-kun!" Yuu Tobita hurried toward them when they finally arrived at the scene of the Last Dance. The class rep smiled at them. "We weren't sure if you guys were coming or not. We need your help though. Natsume-kun.. if it's okay… we need you to speak with some of the technology ability class students about the fireworks that are going to be set off tomorrow." Yuu motioned for the black cat to follow him, which he did, leaving Ruka alone.

"Ruka-pyon!" Ruka grinned and waved as Mikan Sakura approached him, an excited grin plastered on her lips.

"Good evening, Sakura," he greeted her politely. He looked around for his girlfriend. "Where's Hotaru?" Mikan just pointed behind him. Ruka turned and sweatdropped at the scene. Koko was on the ground with Hotaru towering over him with her Baka Gun aimed right at his head.

"Ruka-kun! Your girlfriend is trying to kill me." He had a playful smile etched across his face. Hotaru glared hard at him before shooting him in the head twice. Ruka just chuckled nervously before walking over toward his girlfriend. Mikan followed happily.

"You're late, Ruka," Hotaru muttered calmly. Ruka walked up to her side and grasped her hand in his.

"I know. I'm sorry." He apologized before gently kissing her cheek. The inventor just shrugged in reply.

"The idiot has been overly happy all day," she muttered, sounding annoyed. "Something happened, but she won't tell me." Ruka's eyes widened as he looked passed Hotaru.

"That's going to be the least of our problems if Natsume decides to walk over here any time soon." Hotaru stared at him for a moment before turning to follow her boyfriend's gaze.

They were both surprised to see Koushiro in a wheel chair, with Mikan fussing over him.

"Is it really okay for you to be out of the infirmary, Kuno-..ahh.. Koushiro-kun?" she stumbled over his name, still not quite used to calling him by his first name. He nodded his head and grinned shyly at her.

"I'll be just fine as long as I don't walk around," he replied, touched that she seemed to be so worried about him. He blushed softly.

"If you're sure…" she shrugged, still somewhat concerned about him. She felt somewhat responsible that he had gotten hurt. If it weren't for Natsume, she probably would've broken a couple bones as well.

"Mikan…" Koushiro's soft voice broke the girl out of her thoughts.

"Yes?" she answered, not used to him calling her by her first name either. "What is it?" Her brows furrowed in confusion as the boy seemed to hesitate.

"Mikan… do you… like Hyuuga more than… me?" Mikan froze. Her eyes widened slightly as Koushiro looked into her eyes intently.

"Ahh… well.. I.." she struggled to form a coherent sentence as Koushiro continued to stare at her. She bit her bottom lip, not knowing what to say. Koushiro's face fell.

"I'm sorry for asking such a thing," he murmured softly. "I just really need to know…"

"What's it to you anyway?" Both Mikan and Koushiro's heads snapped over toward Natsume, whose eyes were narrowed into thin slits.

"N-Natsume!" Mikan exclaimed, her eyes growing wide. She hadn't even seen him since yesterday at the haunted house. Her cheeks went pink at the memory.

"H-hyuuga.." Koushiro murmured, his eyes widening. He immediately composed himself and closed his eyes for a moment. Mikan blinked in confusion.

"K-koushiro?" she questioned, unsure. When the boy finally opened his eyes again, they were a shade darker.

"It's very rude to interrupt a conversation like that, Hyuuga-san." Natsume glared at him. It was clear to both Mikan and Natsume that he had done a character change. A very cocky one, obviously. "But I suppose that it's in your nature to be rude." The brown haired boy smirked.

"Just leave her alone, Kunomasu," Natsume grit out without meaning to. "It's obvious that she's too much of an idiot to answer you anyway."

"Hey!" Mikan exclaimed in protest. Koushiro glared hard at Natsume.

"You're right, Hyuuga," he replied calmly. "I don't need to ask her who she likes more, since it's already painfully obvious." Natsume clenched his fists together tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"Watch it, Kunomasu," the crimson eyed boy growled. "I swear that I'll break your other leg." Despite Natsume's threat, Koushiro continued to taunt him as if he hadn't even heard him.

"Why should you care anyway Hyuuga?" he questioned in mock confusion. Natsume hissed. This definitely wasn't Koushiro's normal confident character. This one was much, much worse. Mikan just stood there nervously, debating on whether or not she should intervene. Her thoughts were interrupted however when Koushiro grabbed her by the arm and gently pulled her into his lap.

"K-koushiro… what are you.." Mikan stuttered, taken aback by the boy's sudden move. Her eyes widened when Natsume suddenly lunged toward them menacingly. Her eyes went wide.

"Natsume! Stop! He's already hurt!" Natsume froze, but was prepared to kill Koushiro if he didn't let go of Mikan soon. He almost lunged at Koushiro again when the boy chuckled annoyingly.

"You really should do something about that temper," he scolded as if he were talking to a child, making Natsume even more pissed if possible.

"You should let go of her if you want to keep your arms," he spat, getting ready to make well with that threat. He probably could've burned down the whole academy when Koushiro wrapped his arms around Mikan's waist, pulling her closer toward him.

"Get a life, Hyuuga," he snickered, still cuddling Mikan, who was shifting uncomfortably. "You act as if you love her." Natsume's anger scale was skyrocketing at the moment. His whole body shook with rage as he watched Mikan being hugged by another guy. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He exploded.

"MAYBE I DO LOVE HER!" he yelled as a few trees behind him burst into flames. Silence followed. Natsume lunged at Koushiro, determined not to let anything get in his way this time.

A.N- To make up for my extremely crappy chapter last time… I tried to make this one better.. and I tried to make it longer than I would have made it.. I really hope you enjoyed this one.. not like my last chapter. Please review!


	18. Doing it the right way

Mikan's eyes went wide as Natsume lunged toward her and Kunomasu. Acting fast, the nullifier jumped off Kunomasu's lap and ran into Natsume before he could get close to touching Koushiro. She wrapped her arms around his middle, restraining him. Natsume, of course, resisted and began to shove the girl off of him, but froze when Mikan looked up at him pleadingly.

"Stop it, Natsume!" she yelled, her eyes filing with tears. She then broke away from his gaze, but didn't loosen her hold on him. The "MAYBE I DO LOVE HER!" kept on ringing over and over again in her head and it confused her. What did Natsume mean? The girl's chest grew tight and she couldn't figure out why, so instead, she let her tears trail down her cheeks.

BAKA BAKA BAKA! Mikan jumped away in shock as 3 bullets from Hotaru's Baka gun shot Natsume in the head. The flame caster fell backwards on his butt. He held his head in pain.

"H-Hotaru!" Mikan exclaimed as the inventor stepped forward, with Ruka not far behind. Natsume lifted his head to glare at the stoic girl. Hotaru stared down at him for a moment before glaring at him as well.

"Idiot," she mumbled emotionlessly, making Natsume scowl at her. The inventor shot him in the head with her Baka gun once more before continuing.

"You're never going to get what you want if you continue to do what you've been doing for the past 4 years," she went on, finally handing her Baka gun to Ruka. She fixed her dark violet eyes with Natsume's crimson ones as she spoke. "If you keep waiting for things to happen on their own, you may lose your only chance. I've given you many chances, Hyuuga, but if you are unwilling to take them, then I may just give up on you and find someone more suitable for the job." Natsume said nothing, but narrowed his eyes at the last part. Hotaru smirked inwardly to see that her words had had an impact on the black cat.

"H-Hotaru?" Mikan murmured in confusion. She stared at her best friend with furrowed eyebrows. "W-what are you talking about?"

"M-Minna-san!" Ruka yelled to all the students that have gathered around to see what all the fuss was about. "Please go back to work! There is nothing to see here." No one moved and Ruka sweatdropped. The crowd reluctantly began to disperse however when Hotaru and Natsume sent them all matching glares.

"Natsume.." Ruka mumbled, stepping forward once the crowd had left. He offered his hand to Natsume, who was still on the ground. "You've waited long enough. Don't you want to be happy?" Natsume remained silent and ignored Ruka's hand. He stood up on his own, looking very much like a bratty child who didn't get to go trick or treating on Halloween.

"It's obvious that Hyuuga doesn't want her as much as I do," Koushiro said cockily, wheeling himself over toward the group. "You should all just leave him be. I'll take good care of Mikan." Ruka glared at the handicapped kid that was getting in between his two good friends. Hotaru just shrugged however.

"That doesn't sound like a bad proposition," she pretended to consider it, while looking pointedly at Natsume, who was looking murderously at Koushiro.

"Why hello my beautiful students!" Narumi-sensei came skipping out from seemingly nowhere and put his hand on Koushiro's shoulder. He winked at Natsume. "I'm just here to take Koushiro-kun back to the infirmary. He really shouldn't be wandering around in his condition. Adieu!" He looked at Ruka and Hotaru and motioned toward Natsume with his eyes. Then he smiled and waved to Mikan before making his leave, pushing Koushiro's wheelchair as he did so. Once he had left, Mikan tentatively walked up to Natsume and stared into his face, trying to read his expression.

"Natsume…?" she mumbled, still horribly confused. Natsume refused to look at her. Instead, he stared over her head for a moment before turning around to leave with his bangs covering his eyes.

BAKA! BAKA! Natsume was ready for them this time and dodged the baka gun bullets before they could hit him. He turned to glare at Imai again, but he was surprised to see Ruka with the Baka gun, not Imai. He sent his best friend a confused glance.

"Talk to her, Natsume," he told his best friend calmly, yet firmly. The black cat stared at his friend for a moment. He then glanced at Mikan briefly, before turning toward the direction of their Sakura tree. He motioned for Mikan to follow him before walking off coolly. Mikan just stared after him, looking confused. Hotaru rolled her eyes before taking her Baka gun from Ruka and shooting the girl in the back of her head.

"Go with him, Baka," the inventor ordered. Mikan rubbed her head in pain.

"Mou… hotaru!" the girl whined pitifully.

"Sakura," Ruka said, getting the girl's attention. "Go with Natsume. He'll explain everything to you."

"Everything?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "What do you mean?" Hotaru just rolled her eyes in amazement.

"He'll explain to you why he isn't very nice to Kunomasu-san," the boy explained. "And he has something important that he needs to tell you." Mikan blinked in confusion, before finally turning to follow the flame caster. Hotaru and Ruka watched as she ran off to find the emotionless black cat.

"Don't worry about them," Ruka told Hotaru. "Natsume will definitely tell her this time." Hotaru looked up at the blonde with her usual stoic eyes.

"I'm not worried about those idiots," she said simply in a bored tone. "But I'm sick of having to take care of that idiot all the time." Ruka sweatdropped, before smiling fondly at his girlfriend. He knew that the stoic girl didn't really mean that. It may not be obvious, but Ruka knew that Hotaru really cared about Mikan. She couldn't hide that from him. The animal pheromone leaned down to kiss the inventor on the cheek. Hotaru let the corners of her lips twitch upward for a brief moment before pulling on her boyfriend's arm so that she could kiss his cheek as well.

--Scene Change--

Mikan hurried toward the Sakura tree that she and Natsume shared. She slowed down once she saw him there, waiting for her. He leaned against the trunk of the tree, with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his middle school uniform pants. He kept his gaze locked onto the ground below his feet, even as the girl approached him. The nullifier slowly made her way toward the flame caster and stopped once she was standing directly in front of him. She too kept her eyes on the ground, feeling self conscious as she stood in front of the boy for some reason.

Natsume was aware that Mikan was standing directly in front of him, but for some reason, kept his eyes locked onto the ground. When he finally looked up, he realized that Mikan wasn't looking at him either. She looked cute, he realized, not that he planned on admitting it to her. She was looking down at the ground with a cute blush coating her cheeks. It wasn't a deep blush, but a soft one that made her all the more adorable. The crimson eyed boy studied his crush for a moment, before deciding that he had better say something.

"Oi.. Polka-dots," he mumbled. Mikan finally lifted her head to stare at him. Chocolate brown eyes locked onto crimson red ones for a moment, before the crimson red ones shifted to the side.

"N-Natsume…?" Mikan questioned, not knowing what else to say. Natsume forced himself to look into the girl's eyes once more and he melted inwardly. He had the sudden urge to just run away from her again like he usually did, but the words that Ruka said to him began to ring over and over again in his mind.

_"You've waited long enough. Don't you want to be happy?"_ The 14 year old boy grimaced, but knew deep down that Ruka was right. He studied the girl in front of him and mentally cursed himself. Why did she have to be so cute?! Mikan was staring up at him cutely with her large brown eyes.

"Mikan…." He murmured unconsciously. His own eyes widened slightly as he said her name, but he composed himself quickly and immediately went back to looking stoic. Mikan was anything, but composed however. Her eyes went wide as her cheeks grew a shade darker.

"N-Natsume…?" mikan mumbled quietly. She shifted uncomfortably for a moment. "W-what you said before… you know.. before you tried to hurt Koushiro…" She trailed off, feeling completely flustered at what she was trying to ask him. Natsume stared at her as she tried to get the words out. He waited as the girl stood there blushing like mad, doing his best to be patient and let her speak. His cheeks were also growing warm, much to his dismay. He could hear his heart as it beat wildly in his chest and it was annoying him. His emotions were getting out of control. He felt like if he didn't get them out soon, he'd go mad.

"M-MIKAN!" he exclaimed loudly, without meaning to. The said girl jumped at the loudness of his voice.

"W-what is it?!" she asked, her heart thumping in her chest, practically begging to pop right out. Silence followed. The two stood there in silence. Natsume let his bangs fall in front of his eyes, feeling like a complete idiot at the moment. Mikan kept her head down and let her eyes shift to the side. They stood in silence once more, with Natsume doing his best to get his thoughts together and Mikan waiting for him to speak.

"Hey… N-Natsume?" the girl attempted to speak once more after another long moment of silence. "Did you really… mean what you said before… when you said that…."

"I love you, Mikan," Mikan's head shot up. Her eyes went wide in shock. Natsume stared straight into her eyes, looking completely serious. His crimson eyes locked onto hers

"W-what..?" the nullifier stuttered out lamely. Natsume took a step forward.

"I love you," he said with so much sincerity that it would be difficult for anyone to accuse him of joking. Mikan just stood there, too surprised to utter even one coherent word.

A.N-Hey everyone…. flinches please don't kill me! I'm so sorry for not updating on my assigned deadline… again…sweatdrops First year of high school has been pretty hectic so far.. I got two B's on my progress reports… I have so much homework nowadays… I'll try to be more responsible from now on… but please please don't hate me… I'll update again when I can…this chapter didn't turn out as good as I wanted it to.. but I felt as if I had to get the next chapter up by today…. So pls r&r!


	19. Good things come to those who wait

Mikan Sakura stood silently in front of the mirror in her bedroom. She stared blankly at her reflection as she slowly ran a hairbrush through her long light brown locks. The girl's hair has grown longer over the years. Instead of cutting it, she had let it grow out until it reached her waist. The nullifier wasn't even aware that she had been brushing her hair for about 20 minutes straight. Her mind was on a certain flame caster.

"Natsume…" she mumbled, her cheeks darkening. It was then that she finally stopped brushing her hair and slowly made her way over to her desk so that she could sit down and rest her forehead on the cool wooden surface. She sighed and closed her eyes, letting her thoughts wander even further.

_"I love you, Mikan,"…… "I love you," he said with so much sincerity that it would be difficult for anyone to accuse him of joking._

Mikan sighed again as she thought back to the previous day. She hasn't seen Natsume since then and she was dreading the fact that she knew that she would have to face him eventually. Ever since Natsume had confessed, Mikan had been completely out of it. Hotaru and all of her other friends noticed the change almost immediately. Mikan was never one to be aware of the things going on around her, but ever since Natsume's confession, it was as if Mikan wasn't even around. Well, not in spirit anyway.

It even amazed Hotaru that the Nullifier was able to make it to her room safely in the state that she had been in for the last several hours. Mikan hasn't smiled once since she last spoken with Natsume. Hotaru will never admit that this little detail about Mikan bothered her, but it did. She hated it when Mikan didn't smile. The inventor has been keeping a close eye on her best friend since the previous day. She would walk silently by Mikan's side as the brown haired girl lifelessly made her way around the Academy to attend her classes and whatnot. Mikan wouldn't speak to anyone unless they spoke to her first. She didn't once try to hug Hotaru and she didn't once greet anyone like she usually did each and every day. What the girl did do was stare off into space and tune everyone out who tried to talk to her. She did these things absentmindedly of course and they went unnoticed by no one.

According to Ruka, Natsume hadn't spoken to even him ever since he confessed his love for Mikan. In fact, Ruka hasn't even seen the boy since then, much to Mikan's dismay. The only time Mikan had shown some signs of life was when she first walked into the classroom that morning. Once she realized that Natsume wasn't at his usual seat, she began to zone out and hasn't showed signs of life ever since.

"Oi, Baka," a calm voice muttered from Mikan's doorway. Mikan slowly lifted her head and stared in the direction of the voice. Hotaru Imai stood in the doorway, looking stoic, but underneath all of that was a hint of worry. She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

"H-hotaru?" Mikan mumbled, a bit of life flickering in her brown eyes for a brief moment. "W-what are you doing here? How'd you get in?" Hotaru rolled her eyes and wordlessly held up a key for the girl to see.

"I've had the spare key to your room for ages, Baka," she stated matter-of-factly. "And it's time for dinner and you've been in your room ever since classes got out." Mikan rested her head on her hands and stared up at Hotaru with a tired expression etched across her features.

"I'm not hungry," she mumbled simply. Hotaru just stared at her for a moment before pulling out her Baka gun from seemingly out of nowhere. She aimed it right at the girl's head. Mikan's eyes widened a she sat up almost immediately.

"I'm not gonna tell you again," Hotaru warned her darkly. "You need to eat you stupid girl." Mikan flinched and stood up obediently. She found it kind of sad that Hotaru was able to get her to follow orders so easily. The inventor just smirked and walked out of the room with Mikan following closely behind.

-------Scene Change--------

"Oh, So here you are," Ruka Nogi mumbled as he climbed on top of the boy's dormitory. "Natsume….." The said boy lifted his head to stare at his best friend.

"Ruka," he acknowledged the animal pheromone coolly. Ruka took this as an invitation to join the black cat, so he pulled himself up and sat down silently beside the flame caster.

"You didn't come to class today, Natsume," Ruka stated, making it clear that he wasn't asking him. Natsume shrugged silently. When he continued to stay silent, Ruka continued.

"Sakura has been worried about you when she found out you didn't come," he went on, watching the boy from the corner of his eye to note his reaction. He got enough to satisfy him. Natsume's ear twitched at the sound of the girl's name. Ruka laughed inwardly. He _was_ like a cat. He tried to keep a straight face when the flame caster turned to stare at him.

"How would you know that?" he asked, not really convinced. Ruka shrugged and grinned.

"Her best friend is my girlfriend," he stated as if it were obvious. "And according to Hotaru, Mikan isn't thinking about anything else accept for you." Natsume's ears twitched again. This time Ruka allowed a small chuckle to pass by his lips. Suddenly, a small, white dove came and perched itself on Ruka's shoulder. It chirped in Ruka's ear for a moment before flying away. Ruka stood on top of the roof and turned to face Natsume.

"I'm getting pretty hungry," he announced. "Why don't you come down to the cafeteria with me Natsume? It's getting late and you probably haven't eaten yet, huh?" Natsume just stared up at Ruka blankly. Now, Natsume Hyuuga was no idiot. He knew exactly what Ruka was trying to do. He appreciated it, but honestly! Did Ruka really think that he had Natsume fooled? Natsume definitely knew that Ruka wanted him to go see Mikan. Natsume chuckled inwardly and followed his best friend off the roof and into the cafeteria.

Mikan yawned and rested her head on the table that she and her friends were sitting at. Hotaru pushed a bowl of rice toward her, making the girl's head snap up. She stared at the inventor with large surprised eyes. Hotaru popped a shrimp into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed before uttering one simple word.

"Eat."

Mikan sighed and picked up her chopsticks and began to eat slowly. Her appetite had completely vanished for some reason and so did her ability to fall asleep at night. Mikan knew that it was because of what Natsume had said to her the day before. Mikan was slow, but she wasn't stupid. What she couldn't understand was how could one boy affect her so much to the point where she couldn't function properly?

"Mind if we join you two?" Ruka asked as he approached them with Natsume just a couple feet behind him. Mikan's eyes widened once she realized that Natsume was there. Her cheeks suddenly grew warm as she quickly looked away from him. Ruka silently took his seat next to his girlfriend and kissed her on the cheek. Natsume sat next to Mikan. Mikan bit her bottom lip and kept her eyes locked onto the top of the table. Before anyone could say anything else, the Nullifier stood up.

"I-I just remembered that I had something to do…" she stuttered out lamely, before quickly making her way out of the cafeteria. Hotaru stood up as well and was about to follow her best friend in order to give her a piece of her mind, but Natsume stood up as well. He looked toward the direction that Mikan had gone before turning to face Ruka and Hotaru.

"I'll go get the Idiot," was all he said before going the way that Mikan had gone. Once he was out the door, he spotted Mikan as the girl was just turning the corner at the end of the hall. He quickened his pace in order to catch up.

Mikan's eyes widened as she sensed someone following her and turned around swiftly. She stared in confusion when she saw no one. She sighed in relief and turned around again to resume her escape back to her room. Her eyes widened as she was met by a male torso in her face. She slowly lifted her head and stared into a pair of crimson orbs. Natsume stared down at the shocked girl for a moment, before giving her an annoyed glare.

"Are you avoiding me now, Polka-dots?" the boy demanded to know. Mikan immediately shook her head in denial.

"No! Why would I?!" she exclaimed a bit too quickly. Mikan kept her eyes on the ground, much to Natsume's annoyance. The black cat leaned forward so that he could look straight into Mikan's face. The girl's eyes widened. A blush made its way onto her cheeks. Natsume's eyes grew hard as he firmly, but gently pushed Mikan up against the wall, trapping her in between his arms.

"Then why did you leave like that?" he questioned her. When the girl didn't answer, Natsume continued. "If I had known that you would be this stupid about it, then I wouldn't have told you at all." There was no need for clarification. Mikan knew exactly what he was referring to.

"I-I'm not…." The girl murmured in a barely audible voice. Mikan's head snapped up when she heard Natsume sigh. The boy's eyes were hidden behind his dark bangs, making his current expression unreadable. Mikan's heart wanted to jump right out of her chest when the boy began to speak.

"You're my world now, Mikan" Natsume murmured sincerely. He lifted his head so that he could stare deeply into her eyes. Mikan stared at him in astonishment when she spotted the hints of a blush appearing on the stoic boy's cheeks. His voice remained even and sweet as he spoke to her honestly.

"N-Natsume…" She stuttered out, not knowing what else to say. The said boy simply put a finger to her lips in order to silence her.

"Wait… I'm not finished yet," he told her. Mikan finally looked into the boy's eyes and was startled when she realized how warm they looked. "You mean the world to me. I can't stand the thought of losing you because I wasn't able to keep my stupid feelings for you to myself. I don't want you to feel like you can't go near me anymore just because that little brain of yours can't comprehend your own feelings." Mikan's eyes widened.

"B-but-!' she began to say, but Natsume cut her off.

"I can be patient," the flame caster told her matter-of-factly. "I'll wait for you. I'll wait forever if I have to." The girl's heart nearly stopped at his words. Her heart wanted to burst as Natsume leaned down so that their noses were nearly touching. The boy hesitated for a brief moment before kissing his princess lightly on the cheek. Before Mikan could do or say anything, Natsume turned to leave her with her thoughts.

Once the boy was out of sight, Mikan slumped to the ground. She rested her head against the wall and stared up at the ceiling. She sighed heavily before standing up again to escape back to her room for the rest of the night.

A.N-So there you have it…. What will Mikan do now that Natsume has made it very clear that he wants to know how Mikan feels for him? Will she give him an answer right away? Or will she take her sweet time and let Natsume wait like he had offered? Please r&r!


	20. A Lover's Quarrel kinda

"For the last time!" practically screeched in frustration. "Get the lines right, you pervert! You can actually look at the script! That's what it's there for!" Mikan's cheeks were a cute cherry read, from embarrassment or anger, she didn't know. What she knew for sure though was that the raven haired boy in front of her was seriously frustrating her.

Flashback…

Hotaru had been sick and tired of Mikan avoiding Natsume, so she came up with a brilliant and very evil idea, which Ruka helped her with.

Since the upcoming Aladdin play was only a couple days away and Mikan and Natsume still didn't have all of their lines down, Ruka and Hotaru thought it would be a good idea for the two to have a one on one rehearsal with each other. And somehow or another, Ruka and Hotaru were able to lock Natsume and Mikan inside the confines of Hotaru's supply closet that was inside her laboratory.

"Hotaru! Please, let us out!" Mikan had begged, once she realized what had happened. Natsume just leaned against the wall and watched the girl in front of him that was pounding on the wooden door as hard as she could. The flame caster was very content with just watching his angel. He could do it for hours and boredom would never come to him.

Hotaru ignored Mikan's pleading and instead, took the Aladdin scripts and wordlessly slipped them underneath the door. Mikan stared at them in bewilderment from the other side.

"But Hotaruuuu!" Mikan whined, nearly in tears. "Why do you need to lock us up to make us rehearse? We'd do just fine out there!" Hotaru just smirked and answered in a cool, calm voice.

"You'll have less distractions if you two are in there," she stated simply, enjoying this a little too much. "I'll be back to check on you in a couple hours."

"A couple hours?!" Mikan shrieked in horror.

"Or until you memorize all your lines," the inventor grinned evilly. "Whichever comes first." With that being said, Hotaru Imai turned and made her way out of her lab in search of her boyfriend.

End Flashback…

"I'll say it however I want, Polka-dots," Natsume smirked as the girl fumed. Mikan pouted cutely and crossed her arms over her chest. She glared hard at the boy in front of her.

"Fine," she muttered. "We'll try this again." She paused, while staring at the script for a moment. "But.. we don't have a shopkeeper, so I'll just be him for the time being.. and get your lines right this time!" Natsume just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," he mumbled indifferently. Acting as Aladdin, he spoke smoothly and calmly. "Thank you kind sir. I've been looking all over for you" Mikan, as Jasmine, started immediately.

"What are you doing?" she whispered in full acting mode. Natsume rolled his eyes at the girl's attempt to act well even though they were alone.

"Just play along," he read right off the script in a bored tone.

Mikan, now pretending to be the shopkeeper, tried to imitate a deep voice, much to Natsume's amusement.

"You know this girl?" she asked, pretending to look shocked. Natsume stared down at his script before getting an evil glint in his eye. Dropping his script on the ground, he began.

"Unfortunately, yes. We found her digging through a trashcan. You shouldn't kill her though. She's just an idiot." Mikan glared at him.

"Natsume!" she screeched, making the boy cover his ears, to protect himself from the girl's high voice. "First of all, you're supposed to say that I'm you sister! Second… I'm crazy.. not an idiot! We're never gonna have our lines memorized if you don't do them right!" Natsume didn't answer and carelessly leaned against the wall, looking bored out of his mind.

Mikan glared at him, seriously tempted to chuck something at his head, but sighed heavily, before bending over to pick up the script that the boy had dropped. She wordlessly held it out for him to take. The boy paid her no mind however. His eyes were closed and he now had his hands behind his head while he leaned back lazily against the wall.

Mikan just stared at him for a moment. She had to admit that he definitely wasn't ugly. She actually really liked the color of his eyes. They seemed very warm to her. She also liked his dark raven locks that framed his face. His features really did make him look like a cat. She almost giggled out loud as she began to imagine him with kitty ears on top of his head.

"Enjoying the view?" Mikan jumped back in surprised as the boy in front of her revealed his ruby red eyes. She was about to fall, but before she could, Natsume grabbed her arm and yanked her toward him, making the girl fall against his chest. Mikan's face went red immediately as tried to take a step back, but Natsume held her to him and smirked.

"Do you trust me?" he asked, grinning arrogantly as he stole one of the famous lines from the play. Mikan, realizing it also, blushed harder, if possible.

"N-No…" she murmured. Natsume frowned at the obvious nervousness in her voice and pushed her away from his body so that he could look her in the eyes.

"I'm not forcing you to do anything," he told her sincerely, wishing that he could just wipe that frown off her face. He sighed. "Just do what you usually do. Be that little idiot girl that I know and stop worrying already."

"I'm not an idiot.." she muttered, but with not as much enthusiasm as usual. She looked off to the side, trying to avoid the boy's gaze. "But.. Natsume…"

"Hn?" he acknowledged, trying to meet her gaze. The girl continued to avoid his gaze however. When she spoke, it was in a soft and timid voice that was way too unMikan like for the boys liking.

"I have no idea… what it is that I feel for you…" she mumbled finally, wishing that she could just flee from the room. When Natsume didn't answer, she took a breath, before continuing. "You're a great friend, but… I don't know… ever since you told me about how you feel…. I've been feeling really weird around you.. but I don't know what that even means! Is it a good thing? It doesn't hurt.. but.. it doesn't really feel good either! My chest.. just starts to.. feel really tight and..." Natsume just stared as the girl started freaking out. Well, at least she was being honest. It didn't look like the girl was going to shut up anytime soon, so he leaned forward slightly so that their faces were inches apart, looking ready to kiss her.

"Shut up, Polka-dots," the boy ordered firmly. Mikan's eyes widened in surprise at how close Natsume was. She immediately panicked and pushed herself away from him by slamming her hands into his chest. This time, she fell back and it happened so fast that Natsume didn't even have the chance to catch her.

"Oww…" the girl whined as she rubbed her back in pain. Natsume crouched down next to her, before slowly leaning down to kiss her on the forehead.

"Idiot," he murmured, leaving Mikan shocked as she realized what he had done. Mikan watched silently as the black cat walked toward the wooden door that held them captive in Hotaru's supply closet. Natsume stared at it for a moment, before burning it down. He turned back to stare at Mikan, smirked, then coolly walked out.

A.N… yea… I actually made my deadline!! ^^ my editor is gonna be so proud of me! This chapter is dedicated to one of my very dear friends, whose birthday is today! Hope you enjoyed chapter 20 of To Be Admired! Next chapter will finally be the start of the Aladdin play! Hope to see you there!

-PurpleHime


	21. Tears and blushes

"Mikan…" Hotaru Imai murmured as she stepped into the dressing room located in the back of the stage. The start of the Aladdin play was only moments away and the said brunette was frantically trying to make herself look presentable at the last minute. Hotaru watched as the nullifier brushed her waist length brown hair frantically, before sighing and moving forward to help her. She wordlessly snatched the brush away from her best friend and began to run it through her hair for her.

"Thanks Hotaru," Mikan thanked her sincerely, while quickly straightening her Jasmine costume. Hotaru easily got Mikan's hair up into the perfect imitation of Jasmine's hairstyle, ribbons and all. Once the two finally finished getting Mikan dressed up, a knock came at the door and Ruka poked his head in.

"Everyone is waiting for you, Mikan," the blonde informed them. He looked slightly embarrassed and it wasn't until Hotaru noticed that he had his rug costume folded over his arm that she understood why. She smirked, enjoying how flustered her boyfriend looked.

"Has the play started already?!" Mikan exclaimed, looking shocked. She looked up at the wall clock. How long has she been getting ready for?! Ruka just nodded his head in confirmation.

"Don't worry. You're fine," he reassured her. "It's gonna start in a couple minutes though." Mikan nodded and rushed out the door quickly, leaving Hotaru and Ruka alone.

Ruka sweatdropped once he realized that Hotaru was smirking at him. A light blush coated his cheeks as he held his costume.

"I'm going to look ridiculous," he muttered. Hotaru looked slightly amused as she made her way toward him. Ruka blinked in confusion as his girlfriend approached him. His blue eyes widened as the stoic inventor tiptoed so that she could place a sweet kiss on his cheek.

"Do your best out there," she whispered in his ear. "I'll be watching." Ruka blushed a bit darker and nodded his head. Hotaru smirked once more before leaving her boyfriend to change into his costume.

---Scene Change---

Mikan silently made her way to the stage and was greeted by Narumi, who rushed toward her, a look of excitement on his face.

"Mikan-chan!" he exclaimed. "There's been a slight change in the scenes…" he trailed off. Mikan's eyebrows furrowed. She tilted her head to the side.

"Slight change?" she echoed. Narumi nodded, while scratching the back of his head sheepishly, which only confused Mikan further. What was going on?

Mikan let her eyes wander to the other actors. Everything seemed in order. Everyone was rushing around, trying to get the stage set up. Anna and Nonoko were helping out with make-up, others were reviewing their lines and helping each other with their costumes. Mikan almost missed what the giant banner hanging above the stage said:

**Almost Aladdin**

Mikan stared up at the banner for a brief moment, before turning to Narumi questioningly, who just shrugged in response.

"Like I said, Mikan-chan" he began simply. "There are going to be some slight changes to the play." Mikan just stared at him, but before she could question him any further, the curtain rose. Narumi pulled the small girl to the side so that she wouldn't be seen by the audience.

Yuu Tobita, who was the narrator for the play, stepped out onto the stage. He was dressed as a market person and held the magic lamp in his hands. He pushed his glasses up onto his nose nervously, before speaking.

"T-thank you… f-for coming to… see the play tonight.." Mikan almost chuckled. Poor Yuu. He looked so nervous. She could practically see the sweat starting to form on the sides of his head.

Mikan felt for him. She knew how shy the boy could be and he was up there having to summarize the story of Aladdin. Mikan listened politely from the sidelines until something Yuu said made her ears twitch.

"We.. f-found that.. Almost Aladdin was more accurate…b-because this play might not be what you all are used to… or- m-might have ..expected… but.. uhh.. please enjoy it anyway!" With that, Yuu ducked his head in a short bow before hurriedly making his way off the stage.

There was brief silence in the audience. A stilling and awkward silence. Until, one random individual began to clap a bit unsurely, naturally causing the rest of the audience to clap, somewhat reluctantly.

"Don't choke up there, Polka-dots."

Mikan's eyes widened and she turned around swiftly to face the infamous black cat. She was about to snap at him for the uncalled for nickname, but was unable to at the sight before her.

Natsume was clad in nothing but tattered white pants and that purple vest, leaving his chest for the world to see. Mikan gaped at this briefly, before turning her head away to hide her blushing face.

"I-I'm not gonna choke…" she said finally once she was able to compose herself. Her already reddened face deepened in color, causing Natsume to smirk. He leaned forward toward the girl, who still had her face turned away from him so she wasn't aware that his face was now mere inches away from her own.

"You're blushing, Polka," he teased, leaning forward a bit more so that he could whisper in he ear. "So you must be falling for me after all." Mikan's head snapped up at that. If possible, the blush upon her cheeks darkened even more. Much to Natsume's confusion, so did her eyes. So quickly that he wasn't even sure how it happened, Mikan set her hands on the boy's bare chest before shoving him away. Hard. Mikan actually pushed him hard enough so that the black cat fell backwards.

Natsume opened his mouth to snap at her, but Mikan beat him to it.

"You pervert!" she screeched, making Natsume raise an eyebrow at her sudden outburst. "Why would I fall for someone like you?!" The flame caster's eyes widened in astonishment when Mikan suddenly tried to flee from the scene. He was too quick for her however and quickly caught her by the wrist as she ran passed him.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" he demanded to know. He spun her around so that she was facing him. His crimson eyes widened in shock once he realized that tears were making their way down the girl's cheeks. He was even more surprised when the girl snapped her head up briefly to look at him in the face.

The nullifier's bottom lip quivered as she unsuccessfully attempted to fight the tears back. Mikan's hands were clenched tightly into fists at her sides, but what really caught Natsume off guard was that the girl's cheeks were still a dark red color. For once, Natsume was at a loss for words as he tried to make sense of his Polka-dot's expression.

Mikan, wanting nothing more than to get away from Natsume, did exactly that. She roughly yanked her wrist out of the black cat's tenacious grasp, before running as fast as her legs would carry her, leaving Natsume to just stare after her in astonishment.

It was silent for a good long minute, before Koko, who was playing the part of one of the guards, threw his sword down on the ground and shook his head in dismay.

"Well… there goes our Jasmine…" he sighed, but then froze and shrugged sheepishly when a bunch of dirty looks were sent his way. He just laughed nervously, while Narumi stepped out onto the stage. He faced the audience and gave them a sheepish grin.

"Well…. Almost Aladdin will have to be postponed while we work out some… technical difficulties… in the mean time… uhh…. Talk amongst yourselves!"

Ruka sighed and rubbed at his temples warily, while Hotaru glared daggers at Natsume, who still hadn't moved since Mikan left.


	22. One Last Chance

"Stupid Natsume…" Mikan mumbled as she continued to run as fast as her legs would carry her. "Stupid jerk! Acting all high and might like that! How would he know about my feelings?! That stupid no-it-all!"

_"So you must be falling for me after all."_ Natsume's voice echoed in the girl's head over and over again, making the color of her blush deepen. A new fresh flood of tears trailed down Mikan's cheeks as she ran. She, of course had no idea where she was headed, but she knew that she would be away from Natsume and that's exactly what she needed at the moment.

-Scene Change-

A few moments after Mikan had run off, the awkward silence was finally broken by Hotaru's infamous Baka Gun. Three bullets connected with the flame caster's head, forcing him to go flying into the opposing wall with a loud thud.

"Hotaru…" Ruka murmured, rushing over to his girlfriend. He grabbed a hold of her hand, hoping to calm her down. However, Hotaru was pretty fired up. Natsume immediately stood back up and glared hard at the inventor, who just glared back just as coldly.

"What was that for?!" he spat, although he already knew the answer. Hotaru didn't answer at first and just continued to glare at him. She then raised her Baka Gun wordlessly, getting ready to shoot him once more, but Ruka gently set a hand on top of hers and lowered the weapon. Hotaru directed her deadly glare at her boyfriend, but Ruka paid her no mind and instead locked eyes with his best friend, who still looked livid.

"Natsume.. you know that you should go after her, right?"

"Next time I see that baka, she had better be smiling.. or someone will have to pay for it.." she hissed, narrowing her eyes dangerously at a certain black cat. Natsume continued to match her glare with his own, making Ruka sigh.

"I'm not paying you anything," Natsume told her matter-of-factly. He didn't even react when Hotaru once again aimed her Baka Gun right at the boy's head. Ruka intervened once more. This time, the blonde approached his best friend. They stared at each other for a brief moment. Before Natsume could speak or do anything, Ruka set both his hands on the flame caster's shoulders, spun him around and shoved him in the direction that Mikan had gone.

Natsume knew all too well where this was headed. He turned to glance back at his best friend, only to see that the blonde had a serious look plastered across his features.

"Natsume.." Ruka began. All signs of the sweet kid they all knew and loved suddenly seemed to evaporate and were replaced with that of a very serious and mature adult. "Mikan has always been very important to me. Hotaru and I have given you many chances to show her how you feel… and frankly.. you aren't doing a very good job in proving to us that you deserve her…. especially to Hotaru.."

"…" Natsume said nothing, but silently waited for Ruka to finish up what he needed to say. Hotaru just glared at him icily.

"I know that you love her, Natsume," Ruka went on, sounding like he was Mikan's father. "And I know that you would never do anything to hurt her.. not intentionally anyway…" he trailed off, trying to choose his next words carefully, when Hotaru cut in.

"Just hurry up and go to her, Baka Neko."

"Hn.." was all Natsume said before nodding once. Then without another word, he went off in search of the girl he loved the most.

"If you mess this up, I won't forgive you!" Ruka called after him. Once the black cat was out of ear shot, Koko pulled out some rabbits and waved them in Mochu's face.

"Twenty rabbits to Natsume screwing this up as well!"

"Fifteen rabbits to Mikan running back here in tears!" Mochu put in. Yuu glared at them.

"I'm sure Natsume-kun will get it right this time!" he exclaimed, sounding somewhat offended that Koko and Mochu would bet on such a thing. Koko just grinned at him cheekily.

"Are you willing to bet on that, Yuu?"

"…"

"Didn't think so," Koko smirked, grinning widely.

-Scene Change-

"Why do I always end up here?" Mikan asked herself in dismay as she stared up at the large Sakura tree that she and Natsume shared. How could she be so thoughtless?! She was trying to avoid Natsume and this is the spot that she chose as her hideout?!

"This is no good.." the nullifier whispered to herself. "At this rate, he's bound to find me any minute now!" Suddenly feeling very paranoid, Mikan turned so that she could run, but tripped on her own two feet and fell forward.

Now, somewhere in the back of her mind, Mikan knew that a certain pair of strong arms would be there to catch her. She didn't even bother to brace herself for the impact against the hard ground. And just as she had expected, a pair of arms did catch her and steadied her carefully. Mikan sighed inwardly and looked up so that she could stare into those crimson eyes. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw a pair of chocolate brown orbs instead.

"K-Koushiro-kun!"

Koushiro Kunomasu, was, to Mikan's dismay, standing and looked as if he had never even been in a hospital before. His cast was gone, as were the bandages that had been hiding the scratches on his face. He smiled gently at her.

"I'm sorry for startling you, Mikan-chan," he apologized politely. He carefully helped the girl back into an upright position. Mikan smiled back.

"Oh… no.. it's okay," she reassured the boy. "You didn't really.. but.. Koushiro-kun… you're all healed! How'd that happen..?" she trailed off when she realized that Koushiro was staring at her with a concerned look dancing in his eyes. He gently set a hand on the girl's cheek.

"Mikan-chan…" he murmured quietly, as he stroked her cheek, earning himself a blush from the brunette, but that was the last thing on his mind as he gently brushed away some tears from his angel's right cheek. "You've been crying…"

"Didn't I tell you not to come near her?" a voice growled out from behind. Koushiro didn't even have to turn around to know whose voice that was. That voice was enough to get his blood pumping and as a result, his possessive and bratty character reared its ugly head.

"Well… it IS Hyuuga!" he exclaimed, hugging Mikan closer to his body, causing Natsume to grit his teeth together angrily. "I bet it was you who made Mikan-chan cry!" Crimson eyes narrowed dangerously. Natsume stomped forward and pulled Mikan out of Koushiro's grasp, before shoving her behind him, shielding her from the slightly smaller boy's gaze.

"That's none of your business," Natsume muttered dangerously, already allowing a flame to form in his palm. "Now get out of here before I burn you!" The two boys slowly and dangerously began to advance toward each other, both looking quite murderous, but before either could make a move to harm their opponent, Mikan finally decided that she couldn't take it anymore and ran in between them.

"STOP IT ALREADY!" she screamed, nullifying both their alices at once. Natsume's flame immediately disappeared while Koushiro's eyes went back to their warm chocolate brown as his features softened. Natsume's eyes widened once he realized that Mikan's eyes were tearing up once more.

"Polka.." he murmured, not knowing what else to say. Mikan turned to glare at him through her tears.

"Just stop it, Natsume.." she said, sounding broken. "Just stop it! Quit trying to hurt Koushiro-kun! He's not even the one who hurt me! That was you! You're the one who hurt me! Now stop trying to follow me! Just do me a favor and leave me alone!"

Natsume's eyes widened as Mikan turned and ran through the trees that led deep into the forest. The two boys stood there for a few moments, completely stunned at the girl's outburst. It was Natsume who recovered first. He blinked once before breaking into a sprint after his damsel in distress, leaving a confused Koushiro in his dust.

A.N- *Starts doing the 'I actually met my deadline dance'* Yay! Thank you for Spring Break! This Chapter is actually slightly longer than my other chapters and everyone was pretty moody in this one. Oh well… hope you enjoyed it! I'd tell you when my next chapter will be up… but that's not my job! ^^ And.. I think this story might actually be coming to a close pretty soon… but idunno… I tend to drag out parts of my story… so I may be miscalculating.. yea.. so.. anyway… plz review!

-PurpleHime


	23. And so it begins

"Oi! Polka-dots!"

Natsume Hyuuga sprinted after the girl of his dreams. Confusion filled his body. What the heck was she running away from him for?! He gritted his teeth together and cursed himself for forgetting that Mikan was a fast runner. Despite the fact that his legs were longer and better built than hers, Natsume still isn't able to catch up with the nullifier.

Mikan was running with all her might, determined not to let Natsume catch up with her. How could she have been so thoughtless?! Blurting something out like that as if Natsume actually cared about her feelings!

"Polka-dots! Hey… quit running already and listen to me!" Natsume actually had his missions and training with Persona for the fact that he had become a faster runner than Mikan. He finally caught up with her and hastily grabbed her wrist, forcing the poor girl backwards and into his eager arms. He held her tightly against his chest, restraining her.

"N-Natsume!" the nullifier squeaked, trying to pull away from him. Natsume was much larger and stronger than her however so her attempts were futile. "Let go of me, baka…."

Natsume ignored her and just tightened his grip on her petite body. "Never again, Polka-dots…" he whispered in her ear. And he meant it too. He would never let her go ever again. "Tell me why you ran off like that."

It was then that Mikan finally stopped struggling and just stood there, letting Natsume hold her from behind. Her tiny fists were clenched tightly against her sides as her eyes such tightly as she did her best not to let anymore tears fall. She failed miserably. Sobs racked at her small form as her whole body shook with them. Fresh tears trailed down her cheeks and dripped to the forest floor.

Natsume felt the girl's body shaking with sobs and sighed. He dropped his own arms to his sides before turning Mikan around so that she was facing him. Then he set his hands on the girl's shaking shoulders.

Mikan lifted her head slowly once she realized that Natsume was no longer restraining her. Her eyes widened however once she realized that he had somehow ended up in front of her.

Natsume gazed into Mikan's eyes intently. His frowned deepened when the nullifier turned her head to the side to avoid his crimson gaze.

"Why are you crying?" Natsume's voice sounded frustrated and yet concerned and caring at the same time, making Mikan shift uncomfortably.

"I don't know…" she finally murmured softly. Natsume just raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief.

"Just tell me what I said, Polka," the flame caster insisted, trying to meet Mikan's gaze. However, the girl refused to look at him directly. When Natsume did succeed in looking her in the eye, Mikan simply squeezed her eyes shut. "I didn't say anything to you that is worth crying over!"

Big mistake.

It was then that Mikan's almond eyes snapped open. She finally turned her head to stare into Natsume's ruby red orbs. Her eyes widened for a brief moment, before they narrowed into thin slits. She grit her teeth together as angry tears built up in her eyes to replace the sorrowful ones.

"N-Natsume Hyuuga..." she muttered darkly. She shut her eyes once more, clearly frustrated. "You….DON'T KNOW ANYTHING AT ALL!"

Silence.

Natsume stared at the girl in front of him, clearly dumbfounded. His eyes widened slightly. Okay… this girl in front of him couldn't even piece together the fact that Natsume Hyuuga loved her. Even with all his painfully obvious hints and clues, she still couldn't figure it out. Even when everyone else around her knew and left hints and clues.. she couldn't figure it out. He had to resort to practically screaming it at her and she was telling him that HE didn't know anything?!

"And what makes you think that I don't know anything, Little Girl?"

Mikan glared at him, looking broken. "You said that you loved me Natsume…" she murmured, just barely above a whisper.

Natsume's eyes softened immediately as he stared at the love of his life, clearly confused. "I meant what I said.."

"But…" Mikan went on. "Even before that.. you were obsessing over Koushiro-kun. I saw it Natsume. You hate him so much… and you let that get in the way! You wanted to take part in the play and you were always fighting him just to get in his way. And.. you were always getting angry at me whenever I was with him. I really did believe you when you said that you loved me… but how could I after you'd get mad when Koushiro and I were together and it made Koushiro-kun happy?! All you wanted to do was ruin his happiness. And onstage.. when you said that I might be "falling for you" so easily…you… I couldn't…"

"What the heck.." Natsume muttered as realization dawned on him. He stared at the girl in front of him, shocked. "Let me get this straight… You thought that all this time.. I was only acting the way I was.. because I _hate_ Kunomasu?!"

Now it was Mikan's turn to look confused. She blinked. "D-don't you?"

Natsume just continued to stare at her in amazement. So, every time Natsume would intervene between Mikan and Koushiro, Mikan thought it was simply because Natsume hates him?! He shouldn't be surprised thought, he realized. Of course everyone but Mikan would realize that Natsume was practically drowning in jealousy when Mikan and Koushiro were together.

"Do I hate Koushiro? Of course I do." Natsume said simply in answer to Mikan's question. "Probably more so than you think."

Mikan stood there silently, letting this sink in. "I don't understand," she finally admitted sheepishly. "I was right… you do hate Koushiro-kun.. so why….?" She trailed off, more confused than ever.

Natsume sighed. He was really hoping that he wouldn't have to spell it out for you, but right now, it seemed like that that was the only way to get her to understand. So the black cat slid his hands down Mikan's arms so that he could grab a hold of her hands.

Mikan stared up at him in astonishment. Her cheeks grew warm immediately as the blood in them burned.

"I do hate Kunomasu… with every fiber of my being.." Natsume confessed, keeping his eyes locked onto Mikan's. "But that isn't why I like to burn him.. "

Mikan tilted her head in confusion. "I-it's not..?"

Natsume sighed before leaning toward the girl so that he could whisper in her ear. "I love you, Mikan and I don't plan on sharing you with anyone. And if any idiot has the nerve to tell me otherwise, I'll gladly burn him."

Mikan's eyes widened before they filled with tears. Not angry tears or sorrowful tears, but tears of joy. She finally understood. She immediately tip-toed so that she could kiss Natsume on the cheek. She smiled up at him with that angel's smile that the black cat adored. "I love you too, Natsume…" she whispered.

Natsume smiled a true smile for the first time in years before pulling his Mikan into his arms for a loving embrace. He wrapped his arms snugly around her waist, holding her close to his chest, enjoying the feel of her body on his. His face immediately found its way to the girl's silky brown hair as Natsume rested his cheek on top of her head.

Their bodies fit against each other perfectly, as if they were the two missing pieces to a 2 piece puzzle. They completed each other. They needed each other to become whole. Nothing else mattered as long as they had each other.

Countless moments passed before the two finally pulled away from each other only to have Natsume grin boyishly, before bending down to cover Mikan's lips with his in a sweet kiss that would mark the beginning of the couple's long and happy life together.

A.N- Yayy! Sappiness and OOC'ness… sorry guys… I couldn't do it without making Natsume and Mikan all… weird and emotional at some parts.. I had a lot of fun messing wit them though! And I'm very sorry for not updating for like… more than two months… okay… anyway! Hope you enjoyed this mushy chapter!


	24. Chapter 24

Natsume Hyuuga had never been so nervous in his young life before today. Unless you include a few occurrences dealing with Persona, or the academy, but that was beside the point. In Natsume's opinion, nothing could compare with the intense nervousness and paranoia he was feeling right now.

"Oi! Natsume!"

The said boy finally turned his head so that he could stare into the face of his entire reason for living.

Mikan Sakura stared into the intense gaze of her boyfriend with a look of irritation and concern before standing up from her position on the bed. The two had been hanging out in Natsume's special star room. The Last Dance would be starting in a little more than an hour, so Mikan and Natsume had decided that they could spend a bit of time alone before the big event.

What Mikan didn't understand about the whole situation was that Natsume had been moping around and acting like a little kid who didn't get what he had wanted for Christmas. She would've thought that even her usually sour boyfriend would be slightly excited due to the fact that this would be their first last dance spent together as a couple. But no, the black cat was being even more of a sour puss than usual.

Natsume didn't grit out a gruff "What is it?" like Mikan thought he would. Instead, the flame caster grabbed his girlfriend by the arm, and firmly but gently pulled her to him so that she had to sit in his lap. Ignoring her surprised squeak, Natsume wrapped his arms around her middle before resting his chin on her shoulder. He then pressed his lips to the girl's ear before speaking.

"You're not going anywhere without me," he nearly growled.

It took Mikan a few seconds to figure out what Natsume meant by that. She wracked her brain for any possible reason for why she would need to go anywhere without Natsume, but came up empty. As far as she knew, she would be spending the remainder of the night with Natsume at her side. Well, except for a little bit before the Last Dance begins. She had told Natsume that she had to speak with Koushiro before the Last Dance. The poor boy still had yet to find out that Mikan and Natsume confessed their undying love for each other and Mikan had refused to let him find out when Natsume went up on stage and claimed Mikan as his forever by the unbreakable bond of the Last Dance. She had to be the one that told Koushiro and she had told Natsume that she needed to do it alone. She owed her former secret admirer at least that much.

Natsume had refused immediately, forbidding Mikan to go anywhere near Koushiro ever again.

Finally, the little light bulb in Mikan's head flickered to life. She forced Natsume to release her so that she could once again turn to face her boyfriend, who was still sitting on his king sized bed.

"I'm going to go talk to Koushiro-kun," the girl said as firmly and gently as she could without letting her irritation toward her boyfriend's protectiveness show.

The two had only been dating for a couple of days now, but Natsume was already showing signs of serious possessiveness. Burning any guy who even dared to look at his girlfriend had become his favorite past time. Of course there were a couple of exceptions, such as Ruka and a couple others who already had girlfriends of their own.

Natsume's eyes narrowed into thin slits. "No you're not," he told her, his voice ringing with finality.

"Natsume.." Mikan began, frustrated. "I have to do this. Koushiro-kun has been so kind to me. I can't let him find out this way!"

Natsume just stared at his girlfriend, his gaze unwavering. He could care less about Kunomasu's feelings and it showed. His mind was made up. He absolutely refused to let Mikan do this without him standing there next to her.

It wasn't that he didn't trust her or anything. He knew that she loved him as he did her, but the day that Natsume Hyuuga even considers trusting Kunomasu (with his girlfriend no less!) will be the day when .. not only will pigs be flying. Ruka will gain a deep voice and a six pack, Koko will quit reading minds for fun, Narumi will start showing signs that he's straight, and he, the infamous black cat of the Alice Academy, will begin to wear pink frilly dresses and hair ribbons while he skips through a field of flowers that he had planted himself.

Putting it bluntly… hell will freeze over.

"What if… I took Ruka with me?" Mikan begged desperately. Having anyone with her other than Natsume while she told Koushiro about their undying love was fine with her. Having Natsume with her was practically the same as murdering Koushiro herself.

Natsume just shook his head. Not good enough, Polka, he thought, smirking slightly as Mikan pouted.

"What about Hotaru?" she questioned hopefully.

Natsume just glared at her. "If I said no to my best friend going with you, why would my answer be any different if it were that freak inventor?"

Mikan sighed exasperatedly. "Fine! You can come. But you can't let Koushiro-kun see you with me. It might be too much for him. I want to break it to him as gently as possible, okay?"

Natsume considered this for a moment, before nodding. He could live with that.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Mikan-chan," Koushiro murmured as the said brunette approached him. He had been somewhat surprised when he got a note, telling him that Mikan would be waiting for him at the edge of the Northern Forest. The very sight of her was breathtaking. Especially because she was already dressed in her Last Dance attire, as was he. The dress was a pale blue and fit her nicely, showing off the curves that she had developed in the last four years. Wings sprouted from the shoulder blades, making her look even more angelic than she already had.

"Koushiro-kun…" Mikan murmured back in greeting. "Thank you for coming to meet me."

All Koushiro could do was nod.

The silence was deafening. Neither knew what to say. Mikan had planned out the whole speech in her head so as to not hurt Koushiro with what she was about to say. Now that she was standing in front of him, all the words seemed to get caught in her throat. Guilt was evident in her eyes, but Koushiro was completely unaware, since the girl had her eyes on the forest floor.

Koushiro made the first move. He stepped forward so that he could set a comforting hand on his crush's shoulder.

Mikan's eyes widened as she looked up at the boy. He was smiling at her so kindly that she had to avert her gaze once more, making Koushiro frown slightly.

"Mikan-chan" he spoke kindly, trying to get her to look at him. "You want to tell me something important. Don't be afraid to, okay?"

Mikan finally lifted her head to look up at the boy in front of her. He had changed somehow. He didn't even seem nervous or embarrassed around her anymore. This gave the nullifier a little more courage. She had to tell him now. She owed him that much.

"K-Koushiro-kun…" she began. She wanted to kick herself when she realized that she was stuttering. She had to do this right! "Umm… that is… Natsume and I…we… that is I… " She was stuttering like a fool. So much for wanting to do this right. What had happened to that wonderful speech she had come up with?

Koushiro simply dropped his hand from the girl's shoulder. Mikan was startled to see that he was smiling gently at her.

"You wanted to tell me that you and Hyuuga are together now, right?" he asked, tilting his head to the side slightly, still smiling that kind smile.

Mikan was speechless.

"You two aren't exactly inconspicuous about it," the boy told her good-naturedly. Mikan was shocked when she realized that Koushiro sounded like he was teasing her!

Koushiro stared down at her shocked expression. His smile faltered slightly as his eyes finally started to show just a bit of sadness. "I know you're happy with him," he told her gently. "And anyone can tell that he's happy with you. The way he looks at you. He isn't that much of a stoic after all I guess…"

He tried to make the situation light, but Mikan saw right through that. Koushiro was hurting inside. You could see it in his eyes. Mikan's eyes filled with tears as realization hit her. She was the cause for his sadness. She shouldn't have let him find out this way. Koushiro was trying to put on a brave face for her and she knew it too. He was too good to her.

At the sight of the girl's tears, Koushiro immediately began to panic.

"M-Mikan-chan.. p-please don't cry.." he pleaded with her gently. Mikan just shook her head, letting the tears fall freely.

"I-I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "I-I should have told you.. r-right away. I'm sorry…I-I hurt y-you…"

Koushiro's eyes softened. The sadness in his eyes was replaced with concern for the crying girl in front of him. Before he could stop himself, Koushiro wrapped his arms around Mikan's slender shoulders so that she could sob into his chest. After a couple minutes, he pulled away slightly so that he could look into her eyes.

"I'll admit that I'm sad.." Koushiro told her once her sobs had subsided. He spoke slowly as if he were trying to choose his next words carefully. "But it isn't because I didn't find out from you Mikan-chan. It wouldn't have mattered if I had found out from you or anyone else.. I still would have been sad. You didn't do anything wrong."

"B-but-" Mikan began to protest.

"I love you, Mikan-chan," Koushiro said, cutting her off. Mikan's eyes grew wide at the confession. "I've loved you for a while now and I'll probably continue to love you. But you love Natsume-kun and there's nothing I can do about that. I want you to be happy though, so please don't cry."

Now Mikan of all people knew that if someone tells you not to cry, it'll only make you want to cry more. She tried to hold back her incoming tears by smiling weakly, but the salty droplets were still able to leak out from the corners of her eyes.

Koushiro wiped them away gently and let his right hand linger on her cheek. Mikan's eyes widened. Before she realized what he was doing, Koushiro leaned forward and placed a sweet kiss on her cheek. He chuckled at the girl's bewildered look.

"I want you to be happy with Natsume-kun," the boy said sincerely. "But if you ever need anyone else, I'll always be there for you."

"Don't you worry about her," a gruff voice spoke from behind Koushiro. "She won't need anyone else."

Koushiro smirked slightly and turned to face Natsume Hyuuga. "I'm surprised that you didn't show up to interrupt us sooner," he spoke boldly.

Natsume smirked right back, not the least bit intimidated. "I was giving you two your time, since you won't be going anywhere near my girlfriend anymore."

Koushiro straightened and narrowed his eyes slightly. "I'll always be there for Mikan-chan. I won't try to steal her from you, but I'm going to be there for her.. as a friend if not anything else."

Natsume's eyes narrowed as well. Was this really the same kid? "You're really pathetic to have to use your chara changing alice for every situation," Natsume taunted coolly.

Koushiro actually grinned slightly. "Believe it or not, Hyuuga, I'm not even using my alice right now. Mikan has made me a stronger person. She has made me who I am today, which is exactly why I won't forgive you if you ever harm her or make her cry."

Natsume rolled his eyes. That kid had to have pulled that out of some corny movie. The flame caster wouldn't be surprised if Koushiro was using his alice to unleash some hero type of character.

"I'd never hurt her," Natsume said, sounding sincere, which surprised Koushiro. He hid it with a grin though.

"That's all I needed to hear," he said finally. He then turned and gave Mikan a quick hug and whispered "don't worry about me", before taking off.

Mikan was still in tears when he was out of sight.

A.N: I know I know… weird place to stop it. My original intention was to make this an extra long chapter, but I wanted to get something posted up today.. since I haven't in a while and I once again missed my appointed deadline. And just so that we're all clear, the next chapter will be the final chapter of To Be Admired. Hope you are all looking forward to it!

-PurpleHime


	25. Chapter 25

"Natsume-kuuuun!" Sumire Shouda whined, coming over to stand next to the black cat. "Would you like to dance with me?"

Natsume glanced down at her briefly, before looking away quickly, holding back a gag. The seaweed haired girl was batting her eye lashes at him. Her EYELASHES! Natsume wanted to burn her so badly, but held back. For some odd reason, his Mikan considered this girl her friend, so he really couldn't do anything about it.

It was Ruka who came to Natsume's rescue. "Ano.. Shouda-san.." he began politely. "Natsume just wants to wait for Sakura."

Sumire pouted cutely.. or so she thought. "Then… will you dance with me Ruka-kun?"

Ruka just sweatdropped, before shaking his head. "I'm waiting for Hotaru to finish as well. I'm sorry."

After what seemed like an eternity to both boys, Sumire finally left them.

Natsume rolled his eyes before sighing. The Last Dance was in full swing. Pretty much everyone was enjoying themselves as they danced to their hearts content. The flame caster did his best to be patient as Mikan danced with Hotaru. It had become a little tradition of hers since they were ten. Mikan and Hotaru always had their special dance together each year, even though they were girls. No one else dared to dance with the same gender. It was just them and Natsume wouldn't have really minded, if it weren't for the fact that Hotaru was one of the many that had dragged Mikan toward the dance floor. Ruka had been Mikan's first partner, then Koko, then Yuu, then Tsubasa, then that idiot Tono, then that pervert teacher Naru, You-chan, then countless guys from the Special Abilities class, and then to Natsume's dismay, Tsubasa again. Then it was Hotaru.

The list just seemed to go on and on to Natsume, but he made sure not to get in the way. Dancing with her friends seemed to make Mikan happy and after experiencing his girlfriend crying on his shoulder after Koushiro left them in the woods, Natsume wanted nothing more at the moment, than to see Mikan smile and enjoy herself.

Ruka had been with Hotaru for most of the night, so he had finally decided to make sure his best friend was holding up alright by himself. Ruka had been watching the black cat silently and it was a funny thing to watch whenever a different girl would come up to Natsume to ask him to dance. It was even funnier when a really persistent girl would ask him. The disgusted look plastered across his face couldn't be more defined on Natsume's features as he would repeatedly refuse the unlucky girls. Surprisingly, there was only one occasion where a girl was burned. One of his fangirls, naturally, was stupid and desperate enough to latch herself onto Natsume's arm. Natsume had burned her hair almost immediately and the girl went running and jumped right into the fountain.

"Natsume?"

Both Ruka and Natsume looked up as their girlfriends approached them. Only Ruka could tell that his best friend was delighted to see Mikan finally coming toward him. His eyes gave it all away.

Hotaru approached Ruka, before grasping his hand in hers so that she could lead him away from Mikan and Natsume. It was obvious that she wanted to give the two some private time alone since Mikan had hardly been with Natsume since the Last Dance started.

Ruka smiled. His girlfriend really was sweet. He pressed a kiss to the inventor's cheek as they headed off together, hand in hand.

"You're done, Polka-dots?" Natsume asked, feigning surprise. He pulled her tightly against his side before pressing a kiss on her forehead, causing Mikan to giggle.

"I'm sorry, Natsume," she apologized, smiling brightly. "I was just having so much fun! You should've danced with someone while you were waiting for me. I saw a lot of girls asking you. Why didn't you say yes? Too shy to dance?" She poked him in the chest lightly as she teased him.

Natsume's lips twitched upwards, forming his infamous smirk, before he cuddled his girlfriend tightly against his chest. He kissed her temple before speaking. "Why would I want to dance with those stupid fangirls?"

Mikan blushed at his PDA before pulling away so that she could face him. "Well… I'm sure it would have been more entertaining than just standing here by yourself while you waited for me to finish."

Natsume's smirk widened, causing Mikan to tilt her head in confusion.

"Actually.. watching you dance was very entertaining," he informed her, confusing the girl even further. "You tripped a lot, you clumsy girl."

Mikan stuck her tongue out at him childishly. "That really shouldn't have entertained you, Natsume. I could've fallen down and hurt myself. You should've been worried about me, you jerk."

"I didn't say that you being a klutz is what entertained me," Natsume said matter-of-factly. When Mikan still didn't catch on, her boyfriend continued. "So… you chose hearts today, huh? Childish, but appropriate."

Mikan's eyes widened as realization dawned. "Y-you pervert!" she screeched, smacking him on the chest. She blushed darkly. "A-and if you think that my underwear is so childish then why do you always peek?!"

Natsume just chuckled, before pulling her toward him once more. "I wouldn't peek if you didn't show them."

"Pervert," Mikan muttered once more, but she allowed Natsume to hug her close with his arms wrapped protectively around her petite form. She gazed up into his face after a moment, guilt plastered across her features. "I'm really sorry for leaving you here alone. Would you like to dance with me?"

Before Natsume could answer, a voice from behind interrupted.

"Hyuuga? May I claim this next dance with Mikan-chan?"

Mikan felt her boyfriend's body stiffen. She shifted so that she could look at the owner of the voice.

"K-koushiro-kun."

The boy smiled at her gently. "You'll accept me, won't you Mikan-chan?"

Natsume's eyes narrowed at the boy in front of him. Not only was this boy his ex-love rival for Mikan's heart, but he had also been the cause of his girlfriend's tears. He hated it when Mikan cried! So Kunomasu couldn't possibly think that Natsume would allow him to…

"Attention students!" a cheery, high pitched voice announced. The students turned their heads to look up at the speakers. "This next song will be the last one before we will have the boys choose their partners for the official Last Dance! So girls! If any of you have an older brother figure or just a really good friend who you would like to dance with for the sake of you friendship before you are bound together with your soul mates… now's the time to do it!"

Natsume stared up at the speakers dumbly, before glancing down at his girlfriend, who was looking up at him pleadingly.

"Natsume.." she began softly.

Natsume groaned in defeat. "Just go," he muttered, letting her go before waving her off reluctantly.

Mikan smiled at him gently before getting on her tiptoes so that she could kiss him on the cheek. Before she could turn to face Koushiro, Natsume grabbed her by the arm, spun her around, and pressed his lips hard against hers.

Koushiro looked away awkwardly. Once Natsume let the girl go, the character changer held out his hand toward Mikan. "Shall we, Mikan-chan?"

Mikan grinned at him shyly before placing her hand in his.

Natsume watched as the two of them walked off toward the dance floor with narrowed eyes. He had just gotten Mikan back for goodness sakes! But it wasn't as if he could say no to her when she gave him that look. It was inevitable, Natsume finally decided. Besides, in just a few minutes, he and Mikan would be bound together forever. Then again, it wasn't as if he actually believed this girly last dance legend. As far as he was concerned, he and Mikan were already bound together forever.

Koushiro led Mikan to the dance floor gently by the hand. He frowned when he realized that the nullifier wouldn't look at him. Her cheeks were tinted red as she kept her gaze down at her shoes.

Once they had made it safely to the middle of the dance floor, Koushiro tilted the girl's face up with his finger. "Mikan-chan?" he murmured, searching her face carefully. His frown deepened when the girl's eyes shifted away from his face. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing's wrong!" Mikan said just a bit too quickly. She ducked her head so that her face was completely hidden. Was she being that obvious?

Realization dawned as Koushiro gazed at Mikan's guilty form. As the soft music began to play, the boy pulled the nullifier toward him gently. He bent down slightly so that he could whisper in her ear. "I'm fine, Mikan-chan. You don't have to worry about me anymore. I've accepted that you and Hyuuga love each other." Koushiro felt the girl shake her head against his chest.

"B-but… I've hurt you.." she stuttered out guiltily. Then incredulously: "how can you be okay with it if it's hurting you so much?"

Koushiro pulled away from her so that he could look into her almond eyes. "I just want you to be happy," he told her sincerely. "I'm accepting you and Hyuuga because I know that he'll make you happy… you are happy with him right, Mikan-chan?" He suddenly looked panicked, forcing Mikan to answer quickly.

"Of course I am!"

Koushiro twirled her around without warning, before pulling her back into his waiting arms. He grinned down at her shocked expression. "Then please smile for me, Mikan-chan. Show me that you're happy.. and I'll be fine. I promise."

Mikan stared at him a bit unsurely before letting a gentle smile grace her lips. Before Koushiro knew what was happening, Mikan had tiptoed before kissing him lightly on the cheek. Her grin didn't fade as the boy in front of her stood with his mouth agape. "I know that you'll find your special someone and she'll love you more than anything in the world. I promise." She then pulled him into a gentle embrace.

Koushiro's eyes softened at the girl's sincerity. He relaxed before hugging her back. He chuckled before speaking. "It's very hard for me to imagine another girl who could ever equal you in my eyes, Mikan-chan."

Mikan just giggled good-naturedly and said, "You're right. There's no way that your special someone could ever equal me. Not even close."

Koushiro's eyes widened, making it obvious that he was not expecting this kind of response from the nullifier.

Mikan laughed at his expression before continuing. She went on her tiptoes once more so that she could whisper in the boy's ear, "She'll be even better."

"Next will be Natsume Hyuuga's choice!" the announcer exclaimed, looking pointedly at the said black cat, who just stared up at him as if he were stupid.

It was silent as Natsume Hyuuga made no move to step up onto the stage. Ruka had already chosen Hotaru as his partner and was now staring at his best friend with a questioning look plastered across his features. His eyes widened as he recognized Natsume's expression.

_"What is he doing?!" Ruka practically screamed in his mind, staring at his best friend in disbelief. "He can't be too proud to do something like this .It's not like he has to go announce it to the whole school! All he has to do is tell the announcer that he chooses Mikan as his partner for the Last Dance! C'mon Natsume…" _

Mikan stared up at her boyfriend, who currently had an arm wrapped around her waist. She frowned sadly as she gazed up at him with curious almond eyes. Maybe Natsume didn't want to be bound together forever with her after all. Her heart dropped at the thought. Was he really not ready to commit that much to her?

Despite the fact that practically the whole Alice Academy was gathered for the Last Dance, it was deathly silent. There was an awkward cough from someone in the back of the crowd as Natsume stared the announcer down with steely eyes, making the poor guy shift nervously.

It took a good minute for Natsume to finally speak. He spoke to the announcer only as he clutched onto Mikan with one arm. "Why should I have to go up there just to tell you something stupid like that?" he demanded.

A short moment of silence followed after yet another awkward cough.

"MAYBE it would've been logical if no one knew who I would choose," Natsume continued with a roll of his eyes. "But I think it's pretty obvious who I've chosen already." The black cat said nothing more to defend himself as he practically dragged his shocked girlfriend to the middle of the dance floor.

"Don't trip, Heart Prints," Natsume teased, smirking openly as he wrapped his arms around Mikan's waist, just in time for the rest of the Academy to snap out of their states to continue what they were doing.

Mikan wondered briefly if she should just blush, since everyone was still watching them, or smack him in the chest. Since the former was inevitable, she did both before wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's neck. "Would it have really been that difficult to go up there on stage… even for me?" she whispered as Natsume rocked her back and forth with the music.

"Why would I want to tell that stupid announcer guy before I told you?" he said in a clipped tone. A faint blush tainted his cheeks once he realized what he had just admitted to. "Stupid girl," he muttered as an afterthought.

Mikan smiled, touched at his words. Well… most of them anyway. "I'm stupid.. but you love me," she told him smugly, finally tilting her head up so that she could grin up at him.

To her surprise, Natsume smiled down at her fondly. "Yeah…" he agreed as Mikan just stared up at him in shock. He didn't smirk or sneer at her. His eyes held no sign of teasing or mischief as he gazed down at the woman who held him here. Not just at the Academy. Natsume had never been more sure of anything else than the fact that Mikan Sakura was his whole reason for existing. Suddenly, Natsume understood what Koushiro was saying before about Mikan. He felt the same way. Mikan made him stronger. She was _his_ strength, but she was also his weakness. If this wasn't true, the infamous black cat of the Dangerous Abilities class wouldn't be doing what practically everyone else thought was impossible. Yes, Natsume Hyuuga was smiling.

Mikan felt tears begin to prick out of the corners of her eyes as she beamed up at the man she loved. He was staring down at her with love in his eyes and suddenly Mikan felt like the luckiest girl in the world. She had always known what it felt like to be admired. Natsume Hyuuga brought out that feeling and so much more.

A.N- Okay… I lied before...but then again I didn't lie…This really won't be the last chapter after all...but then again…that really isn't true either…since the story is technically done and Natsume and Mikan are all happy and all that stuff. But I decided that I'm going to write an epilogue, so this story will look like it's incomplete…even though it's not…It is complete…. But then again it isn't...so it all makes sense. Get it? Good! Last but not least….. the EPILOGUE!!

-PurpleHime


	26. Epilogue

"I love you."

Strong arms wrapped around the petite waist of Mikan Sakura. Her cheeks were tinted pink as she stared down at her new engagement ring with a shy smile on her face. Her new fiancé continued to cuddle her as they both stared down at her new accessory.

"I-I love you too, Natsume."

"Koko… stop reading my mind!" Yuu Tobita shouted at his friend, who was smirking openly at the blonde's obvious annoyance.

"Why should it matter if I'm reading your mind or not?" Koko questioned innocently as he walked along side their class representative. "We all knew that you'd end up being the headmaster for this school eventually. But.. why the rush?"

Yuu stopped walking so that he could stare at the mind reader dumbly. "What do you mean "why the rush?" It's our last year at the academy Koko. We should all be thinking about our futures…" Yuu continued to stare at his friend in amazement when the mind reader simply shrugged his shoulders, indicating his indifference on the matter.

"Hey Koko! Inchou!"

"Mikan-chan!" Yuu exclaimed waving as the girl ran toward them. Well, you couldn't really call her a girl anymore. Now at seventeen years of age, Mikan had acquired the curves of a fully matured woman and stood at five feet and four inches. Her silky brown hair was now waist length and her eyes were still large and filled with a childlike gleam.

"Guess what! You'll never guess!" she grinned widely at her two close friends. They simply smiled back at her.

"I might be able to guess if you wouldn't nullify my Alice," Koko informed her, sticking out his tongue playfully.

Mikan giggled before sticking out her own tongue at him teasingly. "That's exactly why I'm nullifying your Alice, Koko. Now guess!"

Yuu noted the girl's sparkling eyes and slightly pink cheeks and wide smile, before guessing. "I'm guessing it has something to do with you and Natsume?" He and Koko both chuckled when the girl's cheeks darkened.

Mikan ducked her head in embarrassment. "I'm that obvious aren't I?" she murmured before giggling happily and lifting her head to smile at her two friends. "I can't help it though! I'm so excited! I feel like there's this little bundle of joy inside me that keeps moving around!" She smiled gleefully.

Koko's eyes widened. He glanced at Yuu, who looked equally shocked at what Mikan had just said.

_L-little bundle of joy?!_ _Mikan was… pregnant?_

It was Yuu who recovered first. "M-Mikan-chan.. you can't mean…" he trailed off, not knowing what else to say. How could Natsume and Mikan be this foolish?! They weren't even out of the Academy yet, for goodness sakes! To Yuu's dismay, Mikan just continued to grin happily, completely unaware that the two boys had gotten the wrong idea.

"Yup! I'm so excited! I mean.. I already knew that Natsume loved me, but I can't help but feel as if this'll bring us even closer together, you know?"

"B-but.. you two aren't even out of the Academy yet…" Koko sputtered once he had finally recovered.

Mikan shrugged. "It won't happen until after we graduate silly! We were thinking probably about a month after we graduate."

"It is about nine months until graduation…" Koko said to Yuu, as his chocolate brown eyes grew wide.

Yuu stared at Mikan in confusion, a blush making its way to his cheeks. He swallowed a lump in his throat before stuttering, "M-Mikan-chan.. exactly.. how far along are you?"

Completely unaware of what Yuu meant by that, Mikan said simply, "It's been a few days… but Natsume had been planning on it for about a month now."

Yuu paled.

Koko stood there, not knowing whether to yank out his hair or laugh. He decided on the latter and began to chuckle nervously at Mikan's statement.

"What's going on?" Ruka questioned casually as he made his way over to the three teens. He looked at Koko strangely, who was still laughing insanely, before focusing his attention on Mikan.

At seeing her best guy friend in the entire world, Mikan broke into a large smile. "Ruka-pyon! Guess what!"

Ruka smiled gently at her. "What is it?"

Smiling widely with tinted cheeks, Mikan began to answer cheerfully, "Natsume and I are-"

"NO MIKAN-CHAN!"

"DON'T!"

Ruka was roughly shoved aside as Koko and Yuu dove at Mikan, knocking the poor girl to the ground. It was quite a site to behold. Mikan now lay flat on her back with Yuu and Koko right on top of her. The two boys struggled while trying to cover her mouth with their hands. Confused and obviously frightened, Mikan struggled against them. Ruka could do nothing at first besides stare in bewilderment. When the animal pheromone finally snapped back to his senses, he immediately rushed over to help his childhood crush.

"Hey! Quit it you guys!" Ruka yelled at them. He grabbed Yuu roughly by the shirt and pulled him back, causing the class representative to stumble back. Ruka was completely unprepared and ended up breaking Yuu's fall as they both went crashing to the ground.

"Ruka-pyon! Help me-!" Mikan screeched.

Koko was still struggling to keep the nullifier still. He had somehow managed to keep Mikan on her back and now had both her hands trapped in one of his above her head, while his other hand covered her mouth. He spoke to her in a low and frantic voice. "Mikan-chan… you have to keep this… uhh.. situation between you and Natsume a secret. Don't you see? This could ruin everything that the two of you had planned in the future if the higher ups were to find out…"

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"

Koko froze before cursing quietly. `

"Of _course_ he'd choose to show up now.." Ruke mumbled as he gently shoved Yuu off him.

Yuu scrambled to his feet just as Ruka had. He carefully adjusted his glasses. Once he realized who it was who was standing just a few feet away from Mikan and Koko, he visibly paled.

Ruka sweatdropped as he eyed his best friend warily. He could practically feel the rage rolling off of the black cat in waves. His piercing crimson eyes darkened as they practically bore holes into the mind reader who was on top of _his_ girlfriend.

"He's a goner…" Yuu whimpered to Ruka. "Shouldn't we do something?"

Ruka just stared at the scene dumbly. "What is Koko doing?!" he whispered to Yuu in disbelief. "Why is he still on top of Mikan? Is he crazy?! Aww… crud… he's gonna get burned.."

"Shouldn't we _do_ something?!" Yuu asked again with a more panicking edge to his trembling voice.

Poor Koko was frozen with fear and was trying to force his body to move, but Natsume's unwavering glare kept him in place. The most he could do was widen his eyes even further.

Mikan was somehow able to free her hands and once she did, she grasped Koko's hand that was still covering her mouth before speaking. "Koko… it's okay. Natsume won't hurt you."

Despite her reassurance, Koko still couldn't will his body to move.

Natsume redirected his glare to the nullifier. "Like hell I won't hurt him," he growled. He took a menacing step toward them and narrowed his eyes at Koko once more. Natsume's hands were clenched into tight fists and it was taking all of his control to keep them from shaking with anger. Instead, he directed his anger into the words that he practically growled next. He spoke them clearly and threateningly. "Now get off of my _fiance_ before I burn you with flames that put hell to shame."

_"Now get off of my fiance before I burn you_…"

Fiance. Natsume had called Mikan his _fiancé!_

Yuu's eyes grew wide.

A huge smile broke out on Ruka's face.

It was then that Koko's body regained its mobility and just in time too. Natsume didn't seem as if he would be holding his temper for much longer. Koko was off of his fiance in less than a second and quickly darted backwards several feet. He watched with wide eyes as Mikan stood up, dusted her self off and made her way over to Natsume so that she could scold him for being mean to the mind reader. Natsume simply rolled his eyes in response.

"That wasn't very nice.." she was saying. "You should say sorry.."

"Yeah, right Polka-dots."

"Natsume.." At the sound of his name, the black cat turned to face his best friend. Ruka's smile couldn't be more defined. "Congratulations."

Natsume's ambiguous expression faltered the slightest bit. The smile became evident in his eyes. "Thanks, Ruka."

"Mikan-chan," Yuu exclaimed, his eyes bright and happy. He stepped forward and hugged Mikan lightly. "I'm so happy for you. Congratulations," he whispered in her ear. He pulled away from her immediately, however, when he felt Natsume's glare on his back. The class representative chuckled nervously.

"Thank you, Inchou," Mikan said, before placing a friendly kiss on the blonde's cheek. She looked up in confusion as Natsume grabbed her hand wordlessly before pulling her toward him protectively.

Ruka chuckled as he gazed at the two fondly.

"Yeah! Congratulations you two!" Koko exclaimed, back to his cheerful self. "So when's the wedding?" he added lightly as he chuckled.

"We were thinking about the December after we graduate," Mikan answered cheerfully. Suddenly, she frowned in confusion. "Wait.. Koko.. I thought that you said that I shouldn't talk about it. Wouldn't something bad happen if someone were to hear us?" She began to glance around nervously. She unconsciously squeezed Natsume's hand.

The flame caster squeezed her hand back, his eyebrows furrowing with worry at his fiance's obvious distress.

"What? No.. I wasn't talking about that, Mikan. I was talking about the fact that your…" Realization dawned. "Ohh…" He shared a look with Yuu, who had formed a small 'o' with his mouth before he began to rub the back of his head sheepishly.

"What?" Natsume demanded, looking back and forth between his two classmates, slightly irritated that he, for once, had no idea what was going on.

"Nothing!" the two exclaimed, a little too quickly, causing Natsume's eyes to narrow in suspicion.

"Natsume-kun, you are so paranoid," Koko spoke, before chuckling nervously. "Anyway! You two are getting married! We should be making plans! I call best man!" Koko added, before he began to follow Mikan and Natsume, who were already making their way toward the cafeteria for supper.

"I'm Natsume's best friend," Ruka reminded him. "I'm best man."

Natsume chuckled, before pressing a kiss to Mikan's temple. He smirked. "Kokoroyomi can be the flower girl," he suggested with a good natured smirk.

Koko smirked before saying, "No… I think Ruka would make a much better flower girl than me."

Ruka froze mid-step before turning to glare at Koko wordlessly. Then the animal pheromone smirked. "How about this; last one to the cafeteria.. has to wear a dress to Natsume and Mikan's wedding."

"Okay," Koko agreed, grinning mischievously.

The two glowered at each other for a moment, before taking off at full speed toward the cafeteria.

Yuu laughed openly before taking off after them.

Mikan giggled. "We better hurry so that we can make sure that they don't hurt themselves." She started to walk faster, but Natsume tightened his hold on her hand before tugging her back toward him. She turned, confused. "Natsume?"

He grinned at her boyishly before circling his arms around her shoulders in a gentle embrace.

Mikan sighed in content before returning the hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing herself even closer to his body. Her head was tucked underneath the boy's chin. Her eyes were shut as she listened to the gentle sound of his heart.

"Natsume?" she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Hn?" he answered, his voice filled with love and desire. His arms tightened automatically around her shoulders.

"I love you."

In answer, Natsume pulled back the slightest bit so that he could tilt the girl's chin up with his index finger. He lowered his head so that their noses were practically touching.

Mikan closed her eyes and waited until she felt Natsume's warm lips against her own.

Both reacted strongly to the kiss. It was sweet and gentle, like Mikan, but at the same time, firm and daring, like Natsume. Mikan hadn't even realized that her fingers had gotten lost in her fiance's dark locks while his strong arms held onto her protectively.

After what was really about 4-5 minutes in reality, but seemed like so much shorter than that to the two lovers, Natsume pulled away so that he could stare in his future wife's bright chocolate brown orbs.

"By the way," he began calmly, making Mikan wonder how he could sound so calm while she was here, panting at the intensity of their kiss. "Imai is wearing a tux to our wedding."

"H-huh? Why would Hotaru wear a tux to our wedding?" Mikan asked dumbly. Her mind may have been clouded by the kiss, but she was still able to realize that Hotaru wearing a tux to their wedding didn't seem natural at all.

Natsume smirked. "Because… Ruka's wearing a dress."

* * *

A.N- *sighs* Now To Be Admired is officially over. It kinda makes me sad, but I'm so happy about how it all turned out. After all I've been through while writing this. It makes me really happy to look back on it all. How the story developed.. and what inspired certain ideas and all that. I'm most thankful to all my wonderful readers and reviewers and of course my best friend froggy coffee bean, who has supported me all the way. Thank you so much everyone! Happy Holidays!


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